By and large, the Munich Security Conference (Feb. 17-19) his year, which for the first time in its history refused to invite any Russian officials, could be characterized as mass hysteria, except for the clear voice of the Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi, now the director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC.
Wang Yi made the important announcement that China would set out its position on resolving the Ukraine crisis through political settlement in a document to be released shortly, and will release a Global Security Initiative Concept Paper to propose more feasible initiatives to address today’s security dilemmas. It was also reported that President Xi Jinping will be giving a “peace speech” on the eve of the anniversary of the Russian incursion in Ukraine.
Members of the US delegation, including Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, addressed the gathering in the spirit of a Nazi-style Nuremberg rally in support of the ill-begotten war in Ukraine. Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg rejected any suggestions of peace talks coming from Russia, by charging that Putin only wants to recreate the Russian Empire.
In his speech, Wang Yi made clear that China from the beginning of the Russian military operation one year ago was intent on bringing about a peaceful resolution of the crisis, and it has not wavered from that commitment. China has “neither stood by idly nor thrown fuel on the fire” he said. “Standing at a critical juncture of history, human society must not repeat the path of antagonism, division and confrontation, and must not fall into the trap of zero-sum game, war and conflict,” he said in his speech, targeting the very basis of the Anglo-American policy.
