China holds moral high ground as global leader, top diplomat says in push for alternative world order

Foreign Minister Wang Yi says Beijing has led the way in development and holds moral appeal under Xi Jinping

Centralisation of power in foreign relations leaves envoys with little room move, observer says

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says most countries refuse to go back to “the old path of camp confrontation and zero-sum game”. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:08pm, 16 Jan 2024

Beijing will become more “self-confident and self-reliant” in its development, China’s top diplomat has pledged as part of a wider push to style its assertive diplomacy as an alternative to Western democracies.

In an article published on Tuesday by the Communist Party’s flagship magazine Qiushi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi tried to put a positive light on China’s troubled external environment, vowing to push for an “equal” and “inclusive” multilateralism and globalisation to rally international support.

While the country had weathered “many storms and waves” and overcome “various difficulties and challenges” since President Xi Jinping took power over a decade ago, Beijing had “effectively led the direction of world development” and become an international power of “moral appeal”, Wang said.

But observers say the continued centralisation of power in foreign relations could lead to more enemies and put off potential partners.

Wang’s article reflected the gist of a top-level internal party meeting on foreign affairs late last month, when Xi vowed to further tighten the party’s control and promised to elevate China’s global standing to a new level despite Washington’s alleged containment efforts.

Echoing Xi’s remarks, Wang claimed in the new article that China had seized “the moral high ground” in its across-the-board rivalry with the United States and faced “new strategic opportunities” despite mounting uncertainties and challenges.