China’s development, security initiatives seek to displace Western order, US State Department official says

Outgoing head of China policy group discussed new Atlantic Council report on Beijing’s global initiatives

‘Beijing’s blueprint would move us away from the universal values that have sustained so much of the world’s progress,’ official says

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A new report warns that Beijing is trying to portray the current international order as a Western construct. Photo: AP

Published: 6:08am, 22 Jun 2023

The United States must defend the rules-based international order against Chinese attempts to “reshape it in its own interests”, a US State Department official on China policy said on Wednesday, refuting global development and security initiatives put forward by Beijing.

Rick Waters, the outgoing head of the department’s Office of China Coordination, made the comments at an Atlantic Council event to discuss a new report by the Washington-based think tank on China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI), warning that Beijing was trying to portray the current international order as a Western construct.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping last year and formalised in a paper released in February, the GSI advocates respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations.

The document is a supplement to the Global Development Initiative (GDI), another proposal by the Chinese government serving as a manifesto of sorts amplifying Beijing’s perspective on development policies.

Rick Waters has worked in the State Department’s Office of China Coordination.

Both initiatives, US critics say, reinforce Beijing’s attempts to refute liberal global values like democracy and human rights.

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