The UN Got Back on Track Half a Century Ago with China’s Return
The restoration of China’s rightful place in the international community got the UN back on track and enabled it to finally work towards accomplishing the noble goals outlined in its charter.
The United Nations (UN) was systemically flawed shortly after its inception following the politicized games that were played to deny the People’s Republic of China its legal seat at this global body. It wasn’t until half a century ago on 25 October 1971 with the General Assembly’s passing of Resolution 2758 that this problem was resolved. The restoration of China’s rightful place in the international community got the UN back on track and enabled it to finally work towards accomplishing the noble goals outlined in its charter.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke about this on Monday during his speech at a conference commemorating that momentous event. He reminded everyone how important that development was in terms of world history. The UN would always be incomplete without one-quarter of humanity participating. The organization’s belated embrace of the People’s Republic changed the course of International Relations by unlocking China’s economic and political potential.
In the years since, the country rapidly opened up in an historically unprecedented way that in turn bolstered its capabilities to support its many partners’ development across the Global South. From the 1970s Tazara Railway in Tanzania and Zambia to the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), peacekeeping missions, and COVID-19 aid in the present day, China responsibly leveraged its growing role in the international community for the benefit of mankind. The UN became much stronger as a result of restoring China’s seat.
There’s considerable work that remains to be done, however, since America’s fading unipolar hegemony still poses a threat, as does its its aggressive unilateralism. The US’ actions destabilize the world and make the ongoing global systemic transition all the more unpredictable and difficult to manage. Nevertheless, President Xi pledged that the People’s Republic will remain committed to the vision of true multilateralism enshrined in the UN Charter and will continue doing its utmost to defend peace, promote justice, and develop the world.
The world is at a crossroads. The UN will either strengthen in the face of newfound threats to the mutual benefit of all or weaken as a result of these pressures and thus lead to a less secure world for everyone. China is championing the first scenario while the US hopes to advance the second. It’s this difference of vision that lies at the heart of what observers have recently started describing as the “new cold war”. Beijing believes in mutually beneficial cooperation in line with international law while Washington wants to destabilize the world.
The irony of this observation is that the prior presumed roles of China and the US have shifted over the past half-century. There used to be a time where the People’s Republic was wrongly described as a so-called “rogue state” as part of the weaponized information warfare narrative that was propagated to deny the country its legal seat at the UN. Nowadays, however, it’s the US that’s rightly described in this way due to the objective fact that it’s blatantly flouting everything that the UN stands for in a desperate attempt to retain its fading power.
This is truly regrettable since it was at one time none other than America itself which helped China restore its legal seat at the UN. Bilateral ties have dramatically changed since then after the US backstabbed China by meddling in its domestic affairs and waging an unprovoked trade war against it. This proved that America cannot be trusted and that it’s an irresponsible member of the international community that’s undoubtedly gone rogue. The US is a danger to global stability while China and its partners are guarantors of stability.
The UN got back on track half a century ago but it might once again be slipping off course due to America’s actions. It’s more important than ever that everyone heeds President Xi’s advice about the importance of remaining committed to international law and strengthening this global body. The UN is the most effective platform in the world for dealing with shared threats like climate change and COVID-19. It plays an irreplaceable role for promoting peace and development, though that might be precisely why the US is trying to sabotage it.
