What is the significance of Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia from 22-23rd March? After this visit, will the Ukraine war end or aggravate? Where does the China-EU relationship stand?
Xi Jinping accused – “Western countries, led by the US, have implemented all-round containment and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to the country’s development,” to make a counter strategy against this diplomacy China cannot allow the defeat of Russia in this war. But on the other hand, he encouraged Putin by saying, “Change is coming that has not happened in a hundred years and we are driving this change together,” to which Putin replied, “I agree.”
In the joint statement issued at the end of the visit, they shared the view that “this relationship has gone far beyond the bilateral scope and acquired critical importance for the Global landscape and the future of humanity.” From this joint statement, it is clear that a phone call between Xi and Ukrainian President Zelenesky will never materialize.
But after this visit, the European leaders of various countries are visiting China. Just a few days ago, Catherine Colonna, the spokesperson of the French president, had made it clear to Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar, ” We know very well what China is doing in this Indo- Pacific region. But we will take responsibility to maintain a balance of power in this region.”
French President Emmanuel Macron on 6th April met Jinping to discuss the Ukrainian war. Much recently, Macron while commenting on the issue in Taiwan remarked, “the great risk Europe faces is that it gets caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy.” He has also added –”Europe must resist pressure to become America’s followers”.
From these recent statements, it is evident that the French have shifted from their previous position of US appeasement. Moreover, Last November, German chancellor Olaf Scholz visited China, in December the European Council leader Charles Michel visited China and last week Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, visited China to consider strengthening their ties.
Why are European leaders visiting China so frequently:
After 1970, the USA established its dollar hegemony upon the world by violating the ‘Bretton Woods agreement’, breaking the fixed exchange rate of gold with dollars
(1 ounce of gold = 35 dollars). Subsequently, the USA forced their supremacy upon the crude oil market, where no one is allowed to sell or purchase crude oil in currency other than the dollar. Such wise, American and European oil corporates have developed their monopoly over the oil market. This dollar hegemony has developed a massive contradiction between the state oil companies of Russia, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia with corporate Giants of the West, accordingly China and Russia are trying to develop their supremacy in the oil market by violating this dollar sovereignty. As a result of this, Russia and China are purchasing and selling crude oil in currency other than the dollar. Encouraged by this many countries are also purchasing and selling oil in their currency or Rubel since dollar-based oil is more costly. India is also following this route. Though India’s recent government is increasingly US-friendly, their friendship cannot allow the Indian government to purchase all of its oil demand in dollars, because the resulting inflationary pressure may ruin the Indian economy. Similar evidence of such inflationary pressure is found in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
This de-dollarisation-centric policy has been rapidly changing the world economy. Consequently, the USA has manufactured a war to obstruct this de-dollarization process. China is convinced that the United States and its allies are determined to continue the war.
The first De dollarisation process was initiated by Saddam Hussain of Iraq in the year 2000, the consequence of which is widely known. At that time, no one supported Saddam, though Saddam had replaced the dollar with Euro, the European Union kept quiet, and even China and Russia did not use their power to help Saddam.
In current times, China is a fierce advocate to overturn this US dollar-based global oil trading system, a mighty exponent of the de-dollarisation process. We observe, after the 90s China leached out the US corporate capital, helping the US corporates profit by offering them cheap labour and abundant natural resources, in return the corporates convert their capital from dollars to the Chinese Yuan. This has created a conflict of interest between the US corporates and the US state. Where the US Corporates are incurring high returns at the cost of declining US state supremacy. Such Chinese diplomacy interests the European Union in its attempt to reduce dependency on America.
If this de-dollarisation process accelerates and takes momentum, China will occupy the central position in the world financial system, a world order favoured by Europe. Inevitably, Xi Jinping remarks that change is coming that has not happened in the last 💯 years.
An Appeal to our dear readers on behalf of the editorial board of Pariprashna magazine:
Let us have a discussion on this topic, put your valuable inputs in the comments section.
In future, Pariprashna Magazine will write a detailed article keeping in mind the theoretical conception of new world order and how to deal with this international dilemma.
News Sources:
http://se.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zgxw_0/202304/t20230406_11055553.htm
