The 12th World Peace Forum Media Briefing was held in Beijing on July 2. Photo: Su Yaxuan/GT

 
The US is playing a negative role in political counter-globalization, Yan Xuetong, dean of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University and secretary-general of the World Peace Forum, said on Tuesday.

Yan made the remarks on Tuesday, at the 12th World Peace Forum Media Briefing, hosted by Tsinghua University. The forum will take place from July 5 to July 7 in Beijing. The theme of the forum is "Improving Global Security Governance: Justice, Unity, and Cooperation."
 
The current international situation will be discussed, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Palestine conflict, in a world that is becoming increasingly divided and confrontational, with violence escalating. The forum will focus on this global situation and aim to provide a platform to weaken or prevent wars.
 
Yan explained that this theme also represents the need for collective efforts to address global issues, as solving problems cannot be achieved by just one or two countries or world powers.
 
Yan added that counter-globalization has become a trend; also, it is no longer limited to the economic area but has expanded to the political area. The trend of counter-globalization will inevitably lead to more severe strategic competition among major powers, further exacerbating the world's divisions.
 
Additionally, counter-globalization no longer follows national interests and global development as before but instead follows the interests of political regimes or even individuals, greatly increasing uncertainty in international society.
 
The political counter-globalization, or the intensification of tension caused by major power competition, is led by the US, which was once the "leader" of globalization.

Yan believes that the US today plays a negative role in political counter-globalization. When other countries have seen the counter-globalization practices of the most developed country, this momentum will become stronger and stronger, and counter-globalization behavior will become more and more common.

The style of global leadership shapes the international order. "Currently, the US is not capable of providing global leadership as it did after the Cold War, and the concept of the US supporting its global leadership based on liberal values has also changed. For example, the Biden administration no longer uses the word globalization,' but has replaced it with 'internationalization.' The cooperation between several countries is called internationalization, while globalization means openness to all countries. Therefore, the US government obviously no longer advocates liberal values, at least in its behavior," Yan added.

He also mentioned that in the context of counter-globalization, East Asia is a relatively safe region from an international security perspective. There have been no large-scale wars in this region since the end of the Cambodian Conflict in 1991. This is different from the situation in Europe. Hence, as long as East Asia does not form a multilateral military alliance like NATO, it can maintain the current peace. If the US establishes a NATO-style military alliance in this region, it may bring other uncertainties, but it seems that it is still difficult for the US to achieve this.


When asked about the changes in China's diplomacy amid the trend of counter-globalization, Yan mentioned that not only China but many countries around the world are facing changes due to this trend. In the era of globalization, China integrated into the international community, but now, due to the US' insistence on "small yard and high wall" policies and forming exclusive small groups with allies, China's integration into the international community has become increasingly difficult. Therefore, China is now making efforts to increase cooperation in limited areas and is more actively opening up than before, Yan said.

China's implementation of a visa-free policy with various countries is one of the best examples.

Recently, Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Australia and New Zealand and announced unilateral visa-free arrangements for both countries. China has now implemented visa-free entry for several countries, hoping to enhance communication and exchange in various fields such as culture and the economy, in response to a potentially more closed world.