The West must unite to counter Beijing’s global ambitions

The West and the US have been conveniently used as an easy scapegoat and pretext in justifying Beijing’s behaviour and in chastising Western moves in the region.

In the security architecture in the region, every Western move is cast as provocative and promoting biased anti China postures that will trigger polarisation and an arms race. Little is said on the actual triggers of these and the bellicose military postures of Beijing.

The arms race in the region began long ago, caused by the actions of China and triggering inevitable regional fears and subsequent actions to preserve regional security and the independence of neighbouring states. This regional polarisation and resulting arms race was not triggered by the actions of the US or the West, but are natural by products of the obvious actions and intent portrayed by Beijing over the past two decades, particularly since the ascension of Xi.

Beijing’s tacit support for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, its repudiation of the “one country, two systems” settlement in Hong Kong, its disregard for the principles of fair trade, its abuse of human rights, its refusal to cooperate over the origins of Covid, and its increasingly bellicose rhetoric and actions in the region and beyond, all have put an end any remaining hope that the West will be able to coax or incentivise Beijing to change its course.

Its approach to the West is confrontational, rather than cooperative. China clearly wants to offer an alternative to the liberal global order with Beijing at the centre of the entire spectrum of international trade, economy and security umbrella.

China’s  Belt and Road Initiative is a vast infrastructure and finance programme which has made China the world’s largest bilateral creditor. According to AidData at William and Mary University in the US, the total scale of BRI lending of the past decade is believed to be somewhere near $1trillion.

However, it has been hit by a spiral of bad loans, with more than US$78billion-worth of borrowing turning sour over the past three years. Beijing has therefore extended an unprecedented volume of “rescue loans” to prevent sovereign defaults by big borrowers among about 150 countries that have signed up to the BRI.

The West’s long standing neglect of the Global South has seen Beijing seize upon its opportunity to secure raw materials, extend its economic, diplomatic and military influence and extend soft as well as hard power.  Countermeasures by the West have been late in coming but are now more crucial than ever in maintaining a balance of power and upholding international law.