World's second largest economy, it's necessary for China to talk peace now to preserve global market share

By NS Venkataraman 

In recent times, the Chinese Foreign Minister has repeatedly asserted on various occasions that China is a peace-loving country and that it would do its utmost to maintain global peace, even in the present chaotic conditions. According to him, China vows to uphold stability amidst geopolitical turbulence. At one time, it offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and now it has offered to mediate between Russia and the USA!

Those who have been observing China’s various actions over the last several decades would find it extremely difficult to believe that the Chinese government is truly peace-loving.

No one can forget the onslaught made by China against peaceful Tibet several decades ago, when thousands of innocent, protesting Tibetans were massacred. China has since governed the Tibetan region with a vice-like grip. It has thoroughly uprooted traditional Tibetan culture and practices, and Tibet is now no longer what it was several decades ago.

China waged war against India in 1962 and is now holding thousands of kilometres of Indian territory, claiming that it is part of China. China also now claims that Arunachal Pradesh in India belongs to it.

China has approved the construction of the world's largest hydropower dam—a $137-billion project—on the Yarlung Zangbo River (Brahmaputra) in Tibet, raising serious concerns in India and Bangladesh about potential environmental and water resource impacts. China does not care about the concerns expressed by India and Bangladesh regarding this proposal. In recent years, there have been many instances where China has engaged in military conflict with India along the Indo-China border and has been blowing hot and cold when it comes to relations with India.

China is now creating issues with the Philippines in the South China Sea, often resulting in confrontations. It also has disputes with Japan regarding the Senkaku Islands and with Vietnam as well.

The Chinese military has now warned of tightening the noose around Taiwan and has not concealed its ambition to take over the island. China has been constantly threatening Taiwan through several aggressive military postures around it.

Taiwan was created as a separate state following China’s internal war several decades ago, which resulted in the country being split. If mainland China claims Taiwan as its own, then by the same logic, Taiwan could also claim that mainland China belongs to it.

China’s expansionist greed and its frequent indulgence in conflicts and quarrels with its neighbours are now well known. Therefore, China’s claim that it is committed to world peace is hard to believe. Many may feel it is like the devil quoting scripture.

There is no doubt that China has made remarkable economic and industrial progress over the last few decades. It now has the second-largest economy in the world, after the USA. China depends heavily on the rest of the world for its trade, and it is, therefore, necessary for China to talk about peace to ensure that its global market share is not challenged—particularly with the US President threatening to impose tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the USA. The American market is too important for China to forego, and so peace talk is now in China’s interest.

However, as China continues to make aggressive postures toward its neighbours and attempts to browbeat smaller countries by making them debt-ridden and forcing them to open their markets to Chinese goods, it is difficult to believe that China’s commitment to global peace is genuine.

In the present scenario, the only thing that can be said in favour of China regarding its claims of commitment to peace is that other powerful countries in the world, such as the USA and Russia, also claim that they are peace-loving. It appears that China, the USA, and Russia are all in the same slot when it comes to their claims of being champions of peace! Their assertions about peace sound hollow and insincere, and discerning people across the world can see through them.

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*Trustee, Nandini Voice for the Deprived, Chennai