On the evening of April 23, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a video exchange with the US Council on Foreign Relations in Beijing.
Wang Yi said that China is the pioneer, contributor and defender of the current international system. We are the first country to sign the UN Charter.
There is an argument in the United States that China is "the only country capable of comprehensively challenging the international system." We cannot agree with this at all.
China has developed within the current international system. Why should we challenge an international system that conforms to our own interests?
Is there any reason to start anew and create a new one?
What is really worrisome is that in recent years, multilateralism has encountered a counter-current and the world is facing the danger of division.
The last U.S. government retreated from the group and broke the contract, abandoned international responsibilities, and became the biggest disruptor of the current international order.
We welcome the Biden administration's return to multilateralism.
At the same time, we believe that true multilateralism should be open and inclusive, enforce the rule of law, negotiate and cooperate, and keep pace with the times.
We cannot engage in new group confrontation under the banner of multilateralism, and we cannot engage in closed coterie under the cover of multilateralism.
Some people in the US have repeatedly stated that they want to strengthen the "rules-based international order." What is the question based on the rules?
Who will make it?
If it is only a rule set by some Western countries, it is only a rule set by 12% of the people in the world, and it cannot become a general rule followed by all countries.
China's philosophy is very clear. It is to adhere to the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international law. Only this represents the common will of all countries and the practice of true multilateralism.