Global forum highlights China's role in promoting peace

China is a driver of the Global South influence in a multipolar world, and the country is playing a vital role in promoting peace efforts amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, an international forum heard in Jakarta on April 14.

Nasim Zehra, an Islamabad-based policy analyst and journalist, said China has been very active in backing Pakistan to mediate talks between the United States and Iran in order to help end the conflict.

Zehra made the remarks via video link at the Middle Powers Conference organized by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. Zehra cited Pakistan's daily calls to Washington and Pakistani foreign minister's visit to China in the process of mediating the Middle East conflict. She mentioned similar roles played by other middle powers such as Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Jonathan Berkshire Miller, co-founder of the Canada-based Pendulum Geopolitical Advisory, said nations make business or diplomatic decisions based on national interests. A trade and investment deal, for example, may also lead to security and defense cooperation.

"The reality is now those sectors are blurred. People do not distinguish between the economic tools and the national security and defense tools," Miller said.

Dino Patti Djalal, founder and chairman of FPCI, said that any middle power joining BRICS can help the group play a greater role in shaping the future of the next world order.

He said there remains a question whether middle powers can resolve conflicts and assume leadership roles in repairing the multilateral system.

But "one thing is clear," he said, "the role of middle powers is not preordained."

Haroldo Ramanzini Jr, associate professor at the Institute of International Relations at the University of Brasilia in Brazil, said many middle power and Global South countries are important voices advocating for a legitimate, non-selective and multipolar international order.

Ramanzini said a world without multilaterally agreed rules is inherently insecure.

He urged deeper inter-regional engagement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and South America's MERCOSUR bloc to bolster support for initiatives led by the Global South and other middle powers.

Ramanzini said such cooperation could amplify efforts like India's Global Biofuels Alliance, launched at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, and Brazil's flagship Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty under its 2024 G20 presidency.

Gareth Evans, a former Australian foreign minister, said there are several regional organizations and treaties that express commitment to finding cooperative grounds for advancing common interests and national interests.

Such organizations include ASEAN, MERCUSOR, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and treaties like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.