“China’s reputation is not better, it will simply be proportionally above the United States,” specifies the Asia geopolitics expert. Around it, China continues to worry all its neighbors. “For them, Beijing is far from being a power of stability, but rather one that uses coercion to impose its will.”
For the West, and especially Europe, China’s absence in the Ukrainian and Iranian conflicts can give it the image of “a reliable economic partner in times of peace, but one on which we cannot rely in times of crisis. I do not think there is a surge of trust and diplomatic attractiveness for China.”
Paradoxically, the war in Iran or the military operation in Venezuela demonstrate as much the instability of American politics as its military and operational power. “These are large-scale, inter-armed operations, on the other side of the world, very complex. After 25 years of military and economic rise, China is still far from being able to do the same thing. There is even a certain jealousy,” analyzes Marc Julienne.
The discreet role of China in the war in Iran would be less a key element of a long-term diplomatic influence strategy, than the proof that it “remains today a marginal actor in international relations.”
>> An article to be found on the RTBF website.
