China has no intention of challenging international order, say former diplomats
Days before crucial Hague tribunal ruling on China’s South China Sea claims, former state councillor and former deputy foreign minister say Beijing has no ambition for regional hegemony or power rivalry with US
Two former top Chinese diplomats have yet again weighed into the debate over China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea in a renewed effort to reassure Western critics that Beijing had no intention of challenging the international order.
Just days ahead of an impending international tribunal ruling on China’s expansive claims, former state councillor Dai Bingguo and ex-deputy foreign minister Fu Ying reiterated that China would not seek regional hegemony or enter into a power rivalry with the United States.
Fu told the Chatham House policy institute in London on Wednesday that China had no agenda to gain supremacy even though “the Western-dominated order is showing signs of weakening and failing to offer solutions to all the challenges”.
“China has a strong sense of belonging to this United Nations-led order, as China is one of its founders and a beneficiary, a contributor, as well as part of its reform efforts,” said Fu, the chairwoman of the National People’s Congress foreign affairs committee and a former Chinese ambassador to London.
Citing President Xi Jinping, she said China had “no intention to unravel the system or start all over again”. Xi last week dedicated much of his speech marking the Communist Party’s 95th anniversary to diplomacy, vowing that China was willing to work jointly with the world to promote international order that was fairer to all countries.