Peace groups call for end to global friction

A new Cold War against China is against the interests of humanity, peace campaigners have warned.

Under the theme of "No Cold War", an online forum was held on Saturday, inviting peace activists from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, Morocco, Bolivia, and Belgium to oppose the new Cold War launched by Washington.

"We note the increasingly aggressive statements and actions being taken by the US government in regard to China. These constitute a threat to world peace and are an obstacle to humanity successfully dealing with extremely serious common issues which confront it, such as climate change, control of pandemics, racist discrimination and economic development," said a statement from the No Cold War movement, an international campaign launched in July.

Jodie Evans, one of the panellists and co-founder of CODEPINK, a women-led grassroots organization working to end the US wars and militarism, urged the US government to "stop the lies and stop the hates".

"During the last 70 years, China has educated its people and has taken 850 million people out of poverty, without invading other countries, or enslaving other people," she said, adding that the main reason that the US is launching the Cold War is the US elite is "terrified" by the tremendous economic success of China.

"History has shown that China is not interested in either cold or hot war," she said. "China is not our enemy."

Victor Gao, chair professor at Soochow University, said the purpose of the US-led "new Cold War" is to "derail China's development".

But the US will not reap any benefit from the war, he said, "no matter it is cold or hot, it will bring mutually assured destruction".

He urged Washington to take more responsible approaches on both domestic and international affairs and said its "irresponsible approaches" to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic have led to the deaths of more than 200,000 US citizens.

"China wants to develop friendly relationships with all countries in the world, including the US," Gao said.

Other guest speakers include Lindsey German, a founding member and convenor of the British anti-war organization Stop the War Coalition, Margaret Kimberley, editor and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report, and other peace activists.

They warned that "any New Cold War would run entirely counter to the interests of humanity" and called for global cooperation in order to tackle the enormous challenges that the human race faces as a species, such as climate change and racial discrimination.

The No Cold War campaign called on the US to step back from the threat of a Cold War and also from other threats to world peace it is engaged in, including withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change, and its increasing disengagement from United Nations bodies.

Thirteen worldwide peacekeeping organizations and more than 300 academics, professionals, and business leaders from China, the US, the UK, and other countries have signed up for the campaign, to show their support.