Incidentally, in complete contrast to the Soviet Union, Russia and the USA, China has not waged any illegal wars of intervention (Iraq! 100,000 dead!) since 1945. With increasing power and since the end of the Cold War, it has even interfered less than ever in the interests of other states . Beijing watched with shakes of its head as Washington expended itself militarily and financially in the Middle East while strengthening itself economically, building global trust and recommending itself to other nations indiscriminately as a stable, reliable win-win partner: in Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, South America and the Arab world. What a diplomatic humiliation for the US this week when China of all people was able to broker a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia – as an impartial peacemaker in a region of “holy” proxy wars.
