2 | Friday, March 5, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY PAGE TWO

From page 1 Europe’s future just for the inter­ ests of the US,” he said. He Weiwen, a former economic Parag Khanna, a global strategist and commercial counselor at the and author of The Future is Asian, Chinese consulates in New York and said China is a major opportunity San Francisco, said it is often under­ for Europe, which it is not going to estimated how powerfully Xi’s miss out on. shared destiny message resonates “The EU wants to take the lead with emerging countries, particu­ on exports to China. It wants to larly those in the Global South. gain access to asset management “With this goal, China wants to and other activities in China, and devote itself to peace and develop­ also gain a greater market share in ment for all countries, leading to the Belt and Road­related projects,” he prosperity of them all, whether they said. are big or small. It is a very con­ Khanna said that despite some of structive vision,” he said. the political rhetoric from Washing­ By asserting that “America is ton, US companies want to do the back”, He believes that the US leader same, with a number of leading Wall remains committed to a world in Street names establishing major which the United States maintains operations in Shanghai over the global dominance. past year. “It is not for the common interest “In this sense, Europe competes of all countries in the world. In fact, it directly with the US. Geopolitical might be to the cost of some of them. allies can be geoeconomic competi­ It sees China as the greatest obstacle tors,” he added. to it getting its own way,” he added. Xi made clear in his address to the Koh King Kee, president of the WEF the importance of prioritizing Centre for New Inclusive Asia, a the Global South’s development think tank based in the Malaysian needs. capital Kuala Lumpur, agrees that “Today, inequality continues to China is now the country with the grow, the North­South gap remains big vision. to be bridged, and sustainable “It is saying that we are all part of development faces severe challen­ the global village and that no one ges. As countries grapple with the civilization is superior to another. It pandemic, their economic recover­ believes diversity is the foundation ies are following divergent trajecto­ for peaceful coexistence. China envi­ ries, and the North­South gap risks sions a world order that is fair, equi­ further widening and even perpetu­ table and just, built upon the spirit ation,” he said. of openness, inclusiveness, and mutual respect,” he said. Vaccines drive In his address to the WEF, Xi A China­Europe freight train prepares to leave Xi’an, Shaanxi province, for Khorgas land port, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Unlike many rich Western coun­ strongly defended multilateralism. TANG ZHENJIANG / FOR CHINA DAILY tries, China has made its vaccines “Multilateralism is about having available to the developing world international affairs addressed even before supplying them to its through consultation, and the own citizens, recognizing the future of the world decided by former’s greater need. The virus everyone working together,” he said. within its own borders has also been “To build small circles or start a contained. new Cold War, to reject, threaten or FUTURE: NATION ‘SEES China has supplied vaccines to intimidate others, to willfully many African countries and to Latin impose decoupling, supply disrup­ America, Southeast Asia and CEE tion or sanctions, and to create isola­ countries, some of which are EU tion or estrangement will only push members. the world into division and even THE BIG PICTURE’ On Feb 18, State Councilor and confrontation.” Foreign Minister Wang Yi made clear China’s approach at the UN Exposed weaknesses Security Council meeting, saying it United Kingdom Prime Minister was wrong that high­income coun­ Boris Johnson, who is due to host tries had almost all the vaccine sup­ the G7 Summit in Cornwall, south­ ply, and the poorest none. west England, in June, is proposing “We should come together to a new D10 grouping of countries. reject vaccine nationalism, promote This would comprise the G7 coun­ fair and equitable distribution of tries (the US, UK, Germany, Japan, vaccines, and in particular, make Canada, France and Italy) and also them accessible and affordable for Australia, South Korea and India, developing countries, including who would be invited to join the those in conflicts,” he said. new larger grouping. Koh, from the Centre for New Mario Cavolo, a leading China Inclusive Asia, said China has led expert and CEO of the M Communi­ the way in fully signing up to the cations Group, believes that creat­ World Health Organization­led ing a D10 would only serve to make COVAX vaccination program right the West look weak. from the start in October, in con­ “Moves such as a D10 gathering trast to the US, which only signed up together and ganging up on China in January. only shine a light on the already “In prioritizing the delivery of exposed weaknesses of these vaccine to developing countries, countries while also shining a China is upholding its world vision light on how well China continues that mankind is a community with a to forge ahead despite such shared future. Coronavirus is a com­ efforts,” he said. mon enemy of mankind. No one is Martin Jacques, an academic safe until everyone is safe,” he add­ and author of When China Rules ed. The World, said the D10 idea was Cavolo, the China commentator, driven by the so­called Five Eyes said the country is in a strong posi­ security grouping of the US, UK, tion to lead on this issue because it Canada, Australia and New Zea­ has successfully controlled the land. virus, emerging economically “This is not a statement of stronger as a result. strength, but rather weakness and He said China’s work in supply­ retreat — a shrinking Anglo­Saxon ing vaccines will only serve to bol­ faction. They share Anglo­Saxon ster its relations with developing roots, four were settler colonies, countries. and English is a common (lan­ “Will such help, when needed, guage) to all,” he said. lead to the formation of stronger “Politically and intellectually Clockwise from top left: A woman in La Paz, Bolivia, is given a shot of a COVID­19 vaccine from China. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY A worker bilateral relationships and greater moribund, they are hanging on to unloads Sinovac Biotech vaccines from a Chinese military aircraft in Manila, Philippines, on Sunday. ELOISA LOPEZ / REUTERS Overseas goods are cooperation in the future? Of course the past. Their anti­China crusade is displayed at a warehouse for cross­border e­commerce in Tangshan, Hebei province. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Iranian products attract visitors to it will,” Cavolo said. a lost cause. It is time for new think­ the 17th China­ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in November. YU XIANGQUAN / FOR CHINA DAILY Ross believes that in contrast, the ing. The West must embrace the West is undermining its relation­ world as it is becoming, not as it ship with the Global South. was. Otherwise, it will only hasten “The position taken by the ‘rich’ its own decline.” countries on vaccines is a disgrace Wang Huiyao, president and Politically and intellectually moribund, they (US, UK, Canada, Australia and New and shows the complete hypocrisy founder of the Center for China Zealand) are hanging on to the past. Their anti­China crusade is a lost cause. It is time for of their claim to stand for human and Globalization, or CCG, an rights,” he said. independent think tank based in new thinking. The West must embrace the world as it is becoming, not as it was. “They are hoarding vaccines for Beijing, believes it will be difficult Otherwise, it will only hasten its own decline.” themselves, therefore limiting for D10 to get off the ground. their supply to developing coun­ Having just taken part in the Martin Jacques, leading China commentator tries. China, together with Russia, Munich Security Conference, Wang on the contrary, are supplying said the ideas underlying such a hundreds of millions of doses to new grouping were “far from the “The proposal by Britain is, in China is also forming an China­CEEC cooperation has served political force than Britain, so developing countries — an enor­ mood” of that meeting. fact, an admission that the old increasingly close relationship the purpose of supporting our overall it may be said that the EU mous step forward in human “It is just based on Cold War ideol­ grouping of the G7 — that solely of with Central and East European respective development and better­ and Europe are refusing to go rights.” ogy trying to use democracy as a the old advanced economies — is countries — those that are nearest ing the lives of our people,” Xi told along with a new Cold War against Whatever the outcome of the dividing line, when that line in itself now too weak to be a deciding factor to it on the Eurasian land mass, the summit. China.” global vaccine rollout, the world is far from clear. The old NATO and in world politics and economics. and also a key link for the Belt and Ross feels that Europe as a whole He, the former trade diplomat, faces major challenges over the next Warsaw Pact era has well and truly This was shown during the interna­ Road Initiative. is taking a different position to Chi­ said Europe wants good relations decade in relation to the post­pan­ gone,” he said. tional financial crisis in 2008, after Addressing the China Central na than the UK. with China and has no interest in demic recovery, huge debt levels and “If there is to be a new grouping, which the G20, to which China and Eastern European Countries “Britain, after Brexit, has moved perpetuating US global hegemo­ climate change. the G7 should add both China and belongs, de facto replaced it.” Summit last month, President Xi further to subordinate itself to the ny. Wang, from the CCG, said it India and also bring back Russia. Europe, in particular, seems said China would aim to import US — banning Chinese company “The US wants to contain China should be evident from the two ses­ That would make far more sense.” reluctant to follow a containment $170 billion of goods from CEE Huawei from its 5G system and to maintain its world hegemony. sions that many of the bigger ideas Ross, from Renmin University, strategy toward China. The Europe­ countries over the next five years. embarking on provocative meas­ That, however, is the US’ concern are coming from Beijing. who used to be economic adviser to an Union signed a Comprehensive Since the formation of the cooper­ ures such as announcing it will and not Europe’s. A large part of “China understands the big pic­ former mayor of London Ken Liv­ Agreement on Investment with Chi­ ative organization nine years ago, send an aircraft carrier to the Europe’s economic future is ture. It is not weighed down by ide­ ingstone, agrees that to actually na in December, and clearly sees the China­CEE trade has grown by 85 Pacific,” he said. dependent on Asia, with China ology, and believes so much more work, any new grouping must value of its commercial relationship percent. “But, of course, the EU is a much very much the center of that. It can be gained by greater interna­ include China. with the country. “With its focus on real results, more significant economic and would be stupid to sacrifice tional cooperation,” he said.