China’s Peace Diplomacy in High Gear

China’s peace diplomacy is taking a center stage on international arena in the backdrop of Beijing’s strenuous endeavors to restore lasting peace and stability in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and other parts of the world.

China has increasingly shown its modern statesmanship by hosting inclusive dialogues to seek common grounds for all parties engaged in conflict and making efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind at a crunch time when the world is embroiled with prejudices of political hegemonies and economic superiorities, and especially regional conflicts.

Just take a look at China’s peace effort to mediate crisis around the globe in recent times: a reconciliation pact among 14 different Palestinian factions in the process of resolving Israel-Palestine conflict, brokering a historical peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, toiling hard to promote dialogue for resolving Ukraine-Russia war and accelerating diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan progress and stability.

Owing to the principles of equality, justice and rule of law as well as beneficial to all, China’s peace diplomacy is winning the hearts. The fundamental reason is that China centers on respecting the sovereignty of others, pursuing the policy of non-interference, opposing bloc-politics and zero-sum games, upholding a multipolar world, promoting economic globalization and building a shared future for mankind.

China’s impartial stance, free from selfish motives or interests, has garnered increasing trust from the international community. As a value system and methodology that China offers for global peace, the Global Security Initiative unveiled by President Xi Jinping transcends geopolitical and ideological differences, and is the greatest common denominator for all parties seeking peace and reconciliation.

If we have a look at the image of global players in adopting the strategy of “olive branch”, China stands out in a conspicuous manner. The latest Beijing Declaration signed to end division and strengthen unity by 14 Palestinian factions in Beijing on July 23, 2024 has put China as a focal point of global diplomacy.

The Israel-Palestine conflict and internal Palestinian divisions involve extremely complex backgrounds and interests. It is expected that the Beijing Declaration will lead to the easing of Israel-Palestine conflict.

Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, stated that the Beijing Declaration goes “much further” than any other reached in recent years. The scene of representatives from 14 factions signing the declaration marks an important historical moment in the Palestinian liberation movement and brings valuable hope to the long-suffering Palestinian people.

The Beijing Declaration is a crucial step toward resolving the Palestinian issue and achieving peace and stability in the Middle East. It is also the first time that an internal Palestinian reconciliation document has been reached with the decisive help of a country outside the Arab world.

When asked why this conflict can only be resolved in Beijing rather than elsewhere in the world, Mustafa Barghouti said it is because China is “very decent and honest.” The sincere efforts made by China to support the rights of the Palestinian people, end division and unify the Palestinian stance have been highly praised by all factions in the Beijing Declaration, which is well-deserved.

In the Ukraine Crisis, China’s affable and trust-winning diplomacy has helped to ease the conflict. In late July, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba paid a visit to China, marking the first visit by a Ukrainian foreign minister since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Parties from two of the world’s most significant conflict regions simultaneously seek political solutions in China, forming a “diplomatic resonance”.

Besides discussing China-Ukraine bilateral relations, a key focus of Kuleba’s visit to China is seeking ways to end the Ukrainian crisis in discussions with China. Before his trip, Kuleba recorded a video for Chinese netizens, expressing his hope for “real and just peace” and for Ukraine to “restore stable development and prosperity, and security for the people.” Promoting a peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis is a consistent stance of China, which has also made significant efforts toward this goal. The door to peace remains open, and for the international community, it is crucial to work toward encouraging peace talks rather than the opposite.

The China-brokered Saudi-Iran agreement has been widely welcomed around the globe as a victory for peace and dialogue. Analysts and media praised China for its role as a peace broker and efforts to facilitate dialogue.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric. A landmark agreement is helping de-escalate tensions and restore peace in the Middle East as well as inject stability into a volatile geopolitical landscape.

This also showed that China’s diplomatic philosophy that aims to promote peace and development is much more appealing than some countries’ tactics of fueling confrontation to expand their own political domain in the Gulf region.

Experts pointed out that this is also one of the best practices under the Global Security Initiative (GSI) that China proposed and it could have far-reaching implications and demonstrative effects on other regions that face similar problems of confrontation and conflict.

Experts believe that an important reason for Saudi Arabia and Iran to agree to resume ties is that both sides trust China. “They believe that what China does is not for the selfish interests or hegemony, but for the good of regional stability.”

Experts pointed out that the way China handled this issue is different from the U.S. which tends to fuel flames and sow discord for selfish gains. “There has been a question hanging in the process of global governance. Is it better to form coalitions and seek proxies to fight wars or to promote peace talks and direct dialogue between the two sides to find a solution that suits both sides? China will not seek a proxy,” Experts said.

China’s peace diplomatic role resigned supreme when the U.S. left Afghanistan in chaos after 20 years of stay in Kabul. In order to give peace a chance to prevail, China endorsed Taliban interim government hoping that the Afghan Taliban can unite with other political parties and with all ethnic groups and build a political framework in keeping with national conditions that are broadly inclusive and will lay the foundation for enduring peace.

As a close neighbor and sincere friend to Afghanistan, China hopes for peace and stability in Afghanistan more than any other country. China has built platforms, created conditions, and contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan, earning unanimous praise from the Afghan people and the international community.

Together with the Afghan people, China will continuously consolidate the foundation of popular support for friendly relations between the two countries and work hand in hand to build a China-Afghanistan community of shared future.

China’s diplomatic philosophy demonstrates clearly that China is “a keeper of world peace”, a contributor to world development, and an upholder of the international order based on the UN Charter. Being a trustworthy friend to all, it has a knack for thawing the deadlocks to let lasting peace prevail among different countries.

The article reflects the author’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of China Focus.