US, Britain and India remain silent about death of Jiang Zemin
- The UN Security Council and many of its members express condolences to China after the former president’s death, but not Washington, Delhi or London
- European Council President Charles Michel, who is due to arrive in Beijing on Thursday for meetings with China’s top leadership, tweeted a message of sympathy
A round of condolences for China at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday, after the death of former president Jiang Zemin, put into sharp relief the fraught state of relations between Beijing and the US, India and Britain.
Serving as the council’s president for the month of November, the head of Ghana’s mission to the UN, Ambassador Harold Agyeman, expressed “deepest sympathy” to Beijing on behalf of the Security Council before it voted on a resolution declaring the proliferation of nuclear weapons “a threat of international peace and security”.
While the resolution passed unanimously, Agyeman and delegates representing Russia, Mexico, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and three others prefaced their remarks with condolences, but those representing Washington, Delhi and London did not.
“Former president Jiang Zemin will be remembered by the international community for his dedicated contribution to global peace, security and development and for his role in China’s reforms, its opening up, modernisation and economic development,” Agyeman said before a minute of silence for which all delegates stood.
