Don’t start a ‘new Cold War’, Xi warns at WEF

At virtual Davos forum, Chinese prez urges unity amid tensions with US over Taiwan, other issues

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday warned global leaders at an all-virtual Davos World Economic Forum against starting a “new Cold War”, and urged global unity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Signalling that China will continue to forge its own path regardless of western criticism, he called on the world to abandon “ideological prejudice” and shun an “outdated Cold-war mentality”.

It’s vital to stay committed to international law and international rules “instead of staying committed to supremacy,” Xi told the Davos Agenda event, in his first address since Joe Biden entered the White House. “Confrontation will lead us to a dead end,” he said, and urged a return to mutual respect to help the recovery from the pandemic.

“To build small circles and start a new Cold War, to reject, threaten or intimate others, to wilfully impose decoupling, supply disruptions, or sanctions, or to create isolation or estrangement, will only push the world into division and even confrontation,” he said.

Xi’s speech had been widely anticipated for the tone it would set for relations between the world’s biggest economies over the next four years. Though Xi did not name Biden by name, many of his comments were clearly targeted at the new US administration.

Xi repeated many of the same talking points about multilateralism and “win-win” outcomes that he deployed in his last address to Davos four years ago, days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, but he also signalled that he does not intend to change course in the face of US pressure.

“Each country is unique with its own history, culture and social system, and none is superior to the other,” Xi said, warning against imposing a “hierarchy on human civilization” or forcing one’s own systems onto others.

Xi signalled his desire to put aside political issues which have helped drive a deterioration in ties with Western countries, including his abolition of term limits and use of “re-education” camps in the far western region of Xinjiang. “No two leaves are identical,” Xi told his online audience.

During the address, Xi hinted at his desire to re-establish highlevel dialogue with the Biden administration, calling for countries to “enhance political trust through strategic communication”.

But his address came just days after tensions over Taiwan and South China Sea.

Taiwan expelled nearly 4,000 Chinese vessels illegally dredging sand from its waters in 2020, authorities said on Monday, a more than six-fold increase.

China has taken an increasingly belligerent tone towards Taiwan under President Xi Jinping - especially over the last 12 months with Beijing’s jets and bombers buzzing the island at a record rate.

After the inauguration of US President Joe Biden last week to which Taipei’s de facto ambassador was invited - Beijing sent a fleet of jets and bombers into the Air Defence Identification Zone on both Saturday and Sunday.

Also on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry said the US often sends ships and aircraft into the South China Sea to “flex its muscles” and this is not good for peace, after a US aircraft carrier group sailed into the disputed waterway.