- China’s peace initiative
- Territorial claims on the moon
- Hong Kong tightens legislation
- Climate change threatens China’s economy
- University professor suspended after lecture
- Railroad line in Laos in regular operation
- Heads: Christian Goebel keeps track of protests
The first anniversary of the war in Ukraine is approaching. The fact that China’s chief diplomat Wang Yi wants to travel to Moscow this week of all weeks can be interpreted in different ways. Either as Beijing’s support of the Russian aggression or as part of a peace offensive Wang announced in Munich last weekend.
To appear credible to the West, Wang will also have to travel to Ukraine, analyzes Michael Radunski, who first-hand experienced the hectic and tense atmosphere at the Security Conference in the past few days. After all, a peace initiative can only be successful if there is credible mediation between the two warring parties. To talk in person with just one of the two sides would drastically diminish China’s ambitions for success. Especially since Ukraine so far has more trust in Beijing than the West. Or at least still does.
On the moon, on the other hand, one would think that territorial disputes are as far away as the earth, – well -, is from the moon. And so far that has been the case. But worldly concerns are already growing in the US that China, with its advancing space program, could make territorial claims in the immediate vicinity of the Earth’s satellite. Just as it is currently doing in the South China Sea, writes Frank Sieren. In other words, without an international legal basis.
This all sounds very much like the distant future. For all the momentum of China’s space program, the Americans, but also we should be relatively unconcerned about the moon as tomorrow’s contested territory today. We have enough earthly worries.
Marcel Grzanna
Feature
Eager anticipation of Beijing’s peace initiative
Wang Yi is currently on a big diplomatic mission. After the Security Conference in Munich, the next stop for China’s top diplomat was Budapest on Monday. There, he reportedly worked together with Hungary on a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war. While Washington, Berlin and Paris are still eagerly awaiting China’s initiative, Hungary’s head of government Victor Orbán is full of praise: Their guest from Beijing would highly appreciate Hungary’s “China-friendly policy”, the news agency MTI quoted him as saying.
Wang is afterward expected in Moscow. He might even meet with President Putin there. “The agenda is clear and very extensive, so there is lots to talk about,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. China’s peace initiative will also be discussed there. The conditions for Chinese mediation are good. Nevertheless, China’s advance should not be met with too much expectation.
China has a responsibility
There are basically two questions at the moment: How realistic is Wang’s announcement? And what can be expected from Beijing exactly? First, it is good to see China back in global politics after three years of the Covid pandemic. Many problems these days can only be solved together with the world’s second-largest power.
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