President Xi Jinping put forward his latest analysis of the paradigm shift in global governance in his address at the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa’s Johannesburg, asserting that “the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. It is undergoing major shifts, division and regrouping, leading to more uncertain, unstable and unpredictable developments”.
The process of “major shifts, division and regrouping” affects every country, regional institutions, multilateral organizations and politico-military blocs. It is characterized by the US’ efforts to stop the global center of gravity moving to the East from the West, with intensifying suppression and besiegement of, and sanctions against, China at the core of its campaign.
Having fully assessed the global geopolitical landscape, China’s leaders have formulated the country’s own response strategies and are putting them into action.
These strategies cover both internal and external aspects. Externally, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS are the strategic pillars China relies on to build a strategic depth that not only connects Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia, but also unites friendly nations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.
These strategies cover both internal and external aspects. Externally, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS are the strategic pillars China relies on to build a strategic depth that not only connects Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia, but also unites friendly nations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe
Russia is China’s most important BRICS partner, followed by South Africa. After meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on March 21, Xi revealed that he and Putin reviewed the achievements of the two countries’ growing relationship over the past 10 years, adding that they shared the view that the relationship has gone far beyond its bilateral scope and is of great importance to the world and the future of humanity.
When President Xi met with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Aug 22, he asserted that the China-South Africa relationship has gone beyond its bilateral scope, carrying increasing strategic significance and global influence.
Among the SCO member states, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are friendly with each other. They are geographically connected with each other and cannot be easily partitioned even in the event of a war.
BRICS will soon expand to 11 members under the concerted effort of China, Russia, South Africa and Brazil, with a scattered presence in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Although their interconnectivity could be more easily severed if there were a war, their global influence should not be underestimated in peacetime.
Internally, President Xi is speeding up the establishment of China’s domestic strategic depth. From June 5 to 6, he carried out an inspection tour to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and presided over a symposium on environmental conservation, which was attended by the Party secretaries of Inner Mongolia and neighboring Gansu province and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
On Aug 26, he stopped in Urumqi upon returning from the 15th BRICS Summit to listen to officials reporting on Xinjiang’s development. From Sept 6-8, President Xi visited Heilongjiang province and convened a meeting on striving for the full revitalization of northeast China.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country has been under the threat of wars. During the 1960s and 1970s, to cope with the threat posed by the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, China had to engage in massive military production.
Today, the US has declared China its chief strategic rival, and Washington is enhancing its military presence along the island chains encircling China’s coastline. Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and the three northeastern provinces (namely, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning) have become China’s strategic depth in the new era. Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang border Russia; Xinjiang also borders Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan in Central and South Asia.
The connectivity between China’s internal and external strategic depths makes it capable of coping with the process of “major shifts, division and regrouping” in the global governance shake-up.
At the symposium on striving for the full revitalization of northeast China on Sept 7, President Xi emphasized the importance of cultivating emerging and future industries such as alternative energy sources, advanced manufacturing and telecommunications, as they can create new productivity that helps to boost growth.
The desired new productivity is to be driven by innovation and technology, differing from traditional productivity that relies on energy-intensive or resources-intensive production.
The pursuit of new productivity signals a departure from the traditional development path and aligns with the strategy of high-quality development.
The paradigm shift in global governance has entered the phase of “major shifts, division and regrouping”. Its future development and direction will hinge on whether it is China or the US which advances to a dominant position in the tech-centered Fourth Industrial Revolution in the 21st century.
On the one hand, there is a need for China to expedite the creation of a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the mainstay, in response to Washington’s efforts to decouple from China under the guise of “de-risking”.
On the other hand, it behooves China to cultivate strategic emerging industries and future industries, such as new energy, advanced manufacturing and telecommunications to create new productivity that will give a boost to the impetus of growth.
Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China should work in tandem with the country in implementing these new strategies.
The author is a senior research fellow of China Everbright Holdings.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
