The Place and Role of China in the New World Order

Leylo Allayorova

Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Keywords: WHO, USA, GDP, Ministry of Health, SCO, Central Asia, Anti-Globalism, Silk Road.

Abstract: The world order of the 21st century is not similar to the previous one, so familiar to politicians of the last

century. Its main difference is that the principle of the balance of power, which has been unshakable over the

past three hundred years, will lose its former meaning. The global epidemic outbreak has affected the

international system led by the United States, seriously damaged the global governance mechanism, weakened

the globalization process, and relations among major powers are undergoing restructuring.

1 INTRODUCTION

In post-bipolar international relations, the struggle for

the poles of power is of particular importance. China

has developed a strong economy in recent decades

and is likely to become an economic hegemon in the

near future. Under the conditions of Western

sanctions, Russia was forced to work closely with

China, which puts China in an advantageous position.

The United States is no longer the main actor in

international relations, and its influence has greatly

decreased due to the failures in foreign policy in the

Middle East and Eastern Europe. China is gaining

momentum in partnership with Russia and

theoretically can become a new pole of power in the

East. The situation in international relations is

complicated by the above-mentioned factors, and the

study of trends in the development of China's foreign

policy in the post-bipolar environment is becoming

particularly relevant and politically significant. Given

China's severe demographic overpopulation,

theoretically, they may need new settlements soon.

Given their close cooperation and proximity to

Russia, such a prospect seems to be a potential

security threat. The Chinese economy is also under

increasing pressure from the global economy due to

strong financial and industrial growth. Perhaps,

eventually, China will be able to trade with the West

and dictate its terms.

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3541-9671

2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Firstly, there is no leader in the international system.

Before the epidemic, Western countries did not show

responsibility. The largest country in the world, the

United States, has failed to fight the epidemic. Not

only has it failed to lead the global fight against the

epidemic, but it has also failed to become a base camp

for providing global anti-epidemic materials, but it

has also caused damage. She suspended WHO

support. As a result, the United States was blamed and

plummeted in world leadership. And China has

become a good example for the countries of the

world, holding back the responsibility to support and

help other countries in cases against coronavirus.

Secondly, the mechanism of global governance

has suffered. After the outbreak of a new epidemic of

coronary pneumonia, the effectiveness of

epidemiological control in the United States and

Europe was ineffective, which exposed the internal

shortcomings of the management mechanisms of

Western countries. Before the political pressures and

demands of the presidential election, Trump pursued

a radical policy, showing increasing anxiety,

selfishness, and dominance. At a critical moment in

the global fight against the epidemic, the United

States stopped funding WHO and announced its

withdrawal from WHO, which had a serious impact

on the global governance mechanism. Meanwhile,

China is holding itself up as a world power, actively

participating in anti-epidemic programs.

Allayorova, L.

The Place and Role of China in the New World Order.

DOI: 10.5220/0012966000003882

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR-2 2023), pages 1325-1328

ISBN: 978-989-758-723-8

1325

Thirdly, the economic turmoil and problems are

unprecedented. Chinese leaders have always been

highly vigilant about the economic consequences of

the pneumonia epidemic. In April 2020, in the context

of the fact that (China's GDP in the first quarter

showed negative growth for the first time after reform

and openness, the Central Committee of the Party

made "two unprecedented" important judgments. As

the epidemic continues to spread, China must actively

take various measures to ensure that the epidemic

does not have a serious impact on the Chinese

economy. How to maintain the level of sustainable

economic development in China is another serious

problem faced by Chinese diplomacy.

Fourth, the "anti-epidemic effect" gives China a

rare opportunity to develop diplomacy with its

neighbors and participate in global governance. The

epidemic has two consequences: on the one hand, it

has led to the decline of US international leadership,

cracks in Western alliances, and an increase in anti-

globalist tendencies. It symbolizes international

leadership after the Cold War, based on the Global

leadership of the United States and the capabilities of

international organizations in the field of global

governance. The order was shaken; On the other

hand, it accelerated the "eastward shift" of the world's

political and economic center of gravity, and China's

international status has relatively increased. The

increasing strategic rivalry between China and the

United States and the changing global relations

between major powers indicate that a new

international order is brewing. The new trend of

adjusting the international order will provide China

with a broader strategic space to develop diplomacy

with neighbouring countries and participate in global

governance. Global security is a type of security for

all mankind, i.e. protection from worldwide hazards

that threaten the existence of the human race or can

lead to a sharp deterioration of living conditions on

the planet. Such threats primarily include the global

problems of our time.

3 METHODOLOGY

Important areas of strengthening global security are

disarmament and arms control; environmental

protection, promotion of economic and social

progress of developing countries; effective

demographic policy, combating international

terrorism and drug trafficking; prevention and

settlement of ethnopolitical conflicts; preservation of

cultural diversity in the modern world; ensuring

respect for human rights; space exploration and

rational the use of the wealth of the world's oceans,

etc. Ensuring global security is inextricably linked

with easing the pressure of global problems on the

world community. The global problems of our time

are problems of a planetary scale that affect, to one

degree or another, the vital interests of all mankind,

all states and peoples, and every inhabitant of the

planet; They act as an objective factor in the

development of modern civilization, acquire an

extremely acute character and threaten not only the

positive development of mankind, but also the death

of civilization if constructive ways of solving them

are not found, and require the efforts of all states and

peoples, the entire world community to solve them.

4 DISCUSSION AND RESULTS

Global problems are characterized by planetary scales

of manifestation, great acuteness, complexity and

interdependence, and dynamism. In this context,

scientists are talking primarily about the continuing

danger of nuclear war, the preservation of world

peace, environmental protection, ethnopolitical,

energy, raw materials, food, and demographic

problems, peaceful exploration of space and the

riches of the oceans, overcoming the economic lag of

many liberated countries, the elimination of

dangerous diseases, etc.

Global issues occupy an important place on the

agenda of the UN General Assembly and in the

activities of its special agencies. To understand and

study the political aspects of global problems of our

time, several authoritative commissions were created

at the initiative of the United Nations, which

submitted their final reports to the United Nations

General Assembly for consideration. Thus, one of the

results of the UN Conference on Environment and

Development was held in 1992. In Rio de Janeiro, the

Commission for Balanced Development was created,

an intergovernmental body consisting of 52 people,

which has now become a center for coordination and

coordination of programs implemented by various

UN agencies in the UN system. But the Commission

should not be considered simply as an administrative

coordinating body, it exists to provide general

political guidance in the field of balanced

development, in particular in the implementation of

the Program-21 (Program of the XXI century)

adopted in Rio de Janeiro. In the most general form,

the recommendations of this program can be

summarized in several general directions: combating

poverty; reducing resource consumption by the

modern technosphere; preserving the stability of the

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biosphere; taking into account natural patterns in

decision-making related to the political, economic

and social spheres.

Global security is universal and comprehensive.

Universality means that global security is ensured by

the concerted efforts of all members of the world

community. The comprehensive nature of security is

due to the fact that its achievement is possible only if

all the crisis-causing factors of world development

are taken into account and measures are taken to

maintain the state of stability and stability of all life-

supporting systems of modern civilization. Taking

into account the historical factor, it should be noted

that China considered the Central Asian region as one

of the spheres of its geopolitical, trade and economic

interest. An example of this is the well-known fact

that the Silk Road, through which China maintained

economic ties with the rest of the world, passed

through the territory of the aforementioned region. In

addition, after the collapse of the USSR, China

concluded various agreements with the Central Asian

countries to help resolve issues that hinder the

establishment of bilateral ties. These countries also

cooperate within the framework of the SCO

international organization. The following factors,

such as the close geographical location, open borders,

and a developed transport system, allow us to say that

there are favorable prerequisites for China's

increasing influence in relation to the countries of

Central Asia. The Xinjiang region borders with the

Central Asian states, where Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks,

and Uzbeks live. The current state of affairs, for

example, the exodus of the Russian–speaking

population from Central Asia, is an impulse

contributing to the revival of business ties between

the above-mentioned ethnic groups. The Central

Asian states respond positively to various political,

trade, economic, and other events held by China.

To ensure national security in the countries of the

Asia-Pacific region, China is conducting a dialogue

with these States. The PRC treats them kindly, trying

to strengthen regional cooperation. Confirmation that

the issue of regional security and cooperation has

Asian specifics is that at the moment China is actively

participating in the SCO, ASEAN, etc., and

stimulates their development. The next aspect that

should be mentioned in the direction of China's

foreign policy is the development of cooperation

between Russia and China. Negative processes on the

western borders for Russia, for example, the

strengthening of the influence of NATO and the

European Union, push the Russian Federation to

maintain allied relations with eastern countries.

China, in turn, is looking for a source to supply

electricity to develop its economy and has strained

relations with the United States, which also

contributes to the development of strategic relations

between the two countries. Both countries are

opposed to the expansion of U.S. influence in the

Central Asian region.

China borders three Central Asian countries

(Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan), and the

collapse of the Soviet Union dramatically affected the

alignment of interests in the region, which

destabilized the PRC. The negative consequences are

caused, first of all, by unresolved issues related to

border and territorial issues, a high level of presence

at the borders, and the strengthening of Uighur

separatism. China's borders with Russia were formed

mainly by the end of the 19th century. But at the same

time, the Chinese leadership has always disagreed

with the delimitation of borders and made claims

against both the Russian Empire and the USSR. The

disputed areas remained the territories of the Far East,

part of the territory of Central Asia and Kazakhstan.

Political changes at the end of the 20th century led to

a mutual agreement on the borders in the Far East.

Still, disagreements over the Central Asian borders

remained unresolved due to the collapse of the USSR.

The remaining controversial issue, the lack of

agreements on the territories and borders between the

newly formed states and Beijing worried the Chinese

leadership. In recent years, China has concluded

agreements with neighboring countries on the

definition of borders. During the negotiations at

various levels, Beijing voiced theses on the need to

confront ethnic separatism. Thus, it can be argued that

as a result of active actions and a diplomatic attempt

by the PRC on the Central Asian region, China's

relations with the Central Asian countries have been

settled and have acquired a basis for further

expansion.

Since the establishment of the SCO in September

2001, the Central Asian region has finally turned from

peripheral to strategic for China. By increasing

project and investment activities and intensive

lending to the most significant projects, the PRC

could strengthen its position in the economy. Loans

began to be provided on preferential terms, at a low

interest rate by the Export-Import Bank of the

People's Republic of China. The oil and gas industries

of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have become

heavily financed. If we talk about the Kazakhstan

region, it is worth saying that it is the second supplier

of oil and gas resources among the CIS countries after

the Russian Federation. Given this advantage over

other Central Asian countries, China took the first

steps towards establishing cooperation with

The Place and Role of China in the New World Order

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Kazakhstan in 1997, namely, these countries agreed

on the construction of an oil pipeline to China. This

highway begins in Atyrau and ends in XUAR, where

it connects to the East-West pipeline. The main

partners here are the Chinese company CNPC and

Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGas. Currently, it helps to

meet 1/6 of China's oil needs in general. Back in

2006, CNPC acquired the Canadian company

PetroKazakhstan, which at that time produced 9.5%

of all oil in Kazakhstan. China has been pursuing a

more active policy towards Turkmenistan since 2006.

Economic projects were invested to develop a gas

field on the coast of the Amu Darya, to build the

Turkmenistan –China gas pipeline, through which gas

is supplied to the eastern part of China, Guangdong

Province. In addition to the raw materials industry,

China is also interested in nuclear energy,

hydropower, telecommunications, non-ferrous

metallurgy, construction, and light industry.

Therefore, China's economic presence is felt not only

in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, but also in

Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. According

to estimates, the volume of various investments from

China at the beginning of 2009 amounted to about $

16.2 billion. Thus, in Tajikistan, the volume of

economic assistance is estimated at $ 640 million, the

lion's share of which is allocated to a loan of $ 604

million. Direct investments are relatively small –

about $ 50 million. China's investment activity in the

Central Asian region stimulated Sino-Central Asian

trade and trade turnover from 2001 to 2008 amounted

to $ 20.2 billion, which, increased almost 14 times. In

addition to investment and credit activities, China is

trying to find mechanisms for interstate development

in a multilateral format, therefore it advocates the

development of the trade and economic component of

the SCO. Thus, he puts forward proposals for the

creation of a free trade zone and the creation of

transport infrastructure, which would encourage the

growth of mutual trade and the reduction of non-tariff

barriers.

5 CONCLUSION

The general strategy of the People's Republic of

China includes the consistent involvement of the

region in the framework of its geopolitical and geo-

economic influence. This retraction is characterized

by a focus on the development and import of raw

materials in exchange for the export of finished

products. The growing scale of the above-mentioned

trend is consolidating the status of Central Asia as a

supplier of raw materials. For China's economic

expansion into the region to meet the long-term

strategy of the PRC, as well as be mutually beneficial,

it is necessary to focus on creating full-fledged

comprehensive cooperation within the framework of

a new platform where China could directly cooperate

with the countries of Central Asia without the

participation of others, as it was in the SCO.

Therefore, under the auspices of C5+1, China will be

able to launch large-scale projects for processing raw

materials. This will allow the C5+1 to become a real

regional structure that could ensure a stable dialogue

in the Central Asia region with China through which

China could exert full-fledged influence without

Russia's participation.

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