Russia and China are two “revisionist” powers attempting to change the current world order, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs has claimed, three weeks after Moscow and Beijing made a joint statement denouncing many aspects of Washington’s foreign policy, calling for an end to “interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.”
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, Josep Borell warned the current liberal multilateral world order is at stake, because the friendship between the “authoritarian” Russian-Chinese governments are defying the norms of the existing global architecture.
“30 years after the end of the Cold War, we are facing a determined effort to redefine the multilateral order,” the EU foreign policy chief said. “This statement is the culmination of a long-standing campaign. It’s an act of defiance. It’s a revisionist manifesto, the manifesto to review the world order.”
On February 4, after a three-hour-long meeting in Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping signed a joint statement, in which the two leaders expressed agreement on multiple issues of global sustainable development and international relations.
Among other things, Putin and Xi agreed to oppose the “abuse of democratic values and interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states under the pretext of protecting democracy and human rights, and any attempts to incite divisions and confrontation in the world.” They also called on the international community “to respect cultural and civilizational diversity” and “the rights of peoples of different countries to self-determination.”
Beijing also supported Russia’s demand to stop the eastward expansion of the US-led NATO bloc, while Moscow reiterated its stance on the indivisibility of China, denying Taiwan’s independence claims.
According to Borrell, the joint statement is in contravention of the UN Charter’s definition of human rights and democracy.
The official claimed that the agreement of Beijing and Moscow to oppose “color revolutions” is illegal, because it would violate the rights of individuals to self-determination. He also criticized China’s ‘democracy that works’ slogan, by questioning the country’s claim to have a “thousand-year-long culture and history of democracy.”
Earlier, Russia’s Ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov said that Russia’s relationship with China has flourished thanks to the challenging international environment. He denied, however, that the Russian-Chinese alliance pursues any geopolitical goals.
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