More often than not, superpower competition emerges as a threat to global peace and prosperity. But sometimes geopolitical rivalries push great powers to do well.
On March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia, who had severed their ties for a long time, thus announced the resumption of their diplomatic relations following talks conducted under the aegis of China. As to whether this agreement really advances peace, or the contrary, no one can yet say.
This surprise agreement is in any case fraught with consequences for Washington, both for its efforts to contain Iranian nuclear ambitions and in its relations with Riyadh, already tarnished.
A proactive diplomacy
But it is China’s role in it that heralds the greatest and most lasting repercussions. In a diplomatic initiative surprising by the very distant region it was targeting, Beijing managed to bring the two great adversaries of the Middle East to an agreement. This is probably just the start. This Iranian-Saudi pact could mark a turning point in Chinese foreign policy, marked by a more proactive diplomacy from Beijing in regions where its power remained limited.
The potential benefits are considerable. Beijing exercises colossal economic and political influence in many countries of the world, which it could use to encourage certain states to settle conflicts between them and to reduce international tensions.
Recall that China is the first trading partner of both Iran and Saudi Arabia. Chancelleries in the US and Europe would love to see Xi Jinping use his special relationship with Vladimir Putin to push him to end the war in Ukraine [le président chinois était en visite officielle à Moscou du 20 au 22 mars].
Offensive for a New World Order
However, it is in the context of the growing rivalry between Beijing and Washington that the Iran-Saudi agreement promoted by China really takes on its meaning. Because it is part of an acceleration of the Chinese offensive against American power and for a new world order.
In this offensive, the United States is portrayed as a country obsessed with war, which reigns an unjust world order, unstable and incapable of solving the serious problems of this planet. A report issued by the Chinese government in February, where America is presented as a dominating and warmongering power, denounces “the dangers posed by the actions of the United States to the order and stability of the world and the well-being of all peoples
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Source of the article
The Atlantic (Washington)
Anticipation is one of the strengths of The Atlantic since its creation in 1857. This venerable publication, where write the most prestigious feathers of the moment, knew better than any other American magazine to take the turning Internet, by making of its site a very dynamic place of reflection and debate. Intellectual and placid, like its hometown, Boston, the magazine embellishes its pages with poems and sophisticated illustrations. Founded by a group of writers a few years before the Civil War, it made it its mission to be the spokesperson for the American idea. The publication of the first texts of Mark Twain, the war reports of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Letter from Birmingham Jail (vibrant defense of non-violence, 1963) by Martin Luther King does not deny this ideal.
Extremely dynamic and rich in new content, the site of The Atlantic has carved out a place of choice in the world of online press and is often cited as an example, at a time when the written press is struggling to reinvent itself.
It is also possible to consult there, for a small fee, all the articles published since the first issue, which appeared in November 1857. Theatlantic.com claims 4.3 million monthly users.
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