Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace
Mariann Őry
20/05/2023 06:00
China's President Xi Jinping has made two interesting political moves that are “likely to be more than propaganda and showmanship,” Steingart wrote, reminding that first, Xi spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time, and second, Beijing appointed former Moscow Ambassador Li Hui as its special envoy for a peace brokering mission.
Steingart pointed out that even though “there has been little comment in the West on these two moves,” this does not mean that “the new tones and activities from Beijing are not being closely observed”.
“They could herald a new era of a very different kind, if China takes on a peaceful role on the international stage in the midst of growing US-Chinese tensions - or at least offers itself in this role,”
the journalist stressed.
According to Steingart, China’s movies are “not only propagandistic, but also economic, military, cultural and political”. “At the current stage of its economic development, China certainly does not want to break off contact with its Western suppliers and its Western sales markets,” he noted.
Gabor Steingart reminded that “imperial overstretch – so is the lesson of history - is the punishment of the great powers”. “The two failures of the Germans, the fall of the British colonial empire, the implosion of the Soviet empire and the American overstretch that led to hasty withdrawals from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Latin America tell of this,” he pointed out, adding that “perhaps China has learned from all this. At least we are allowed to hope. The tunnel has sent us a light signal”.