Long-awaited Asian century dawned with a bang, ushering in new era of multilateralism in fractured world
The recent SCO Summit, and the Victory Day parade in China, were a major step towards realizing the objective of a new multi-polar world.
The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean President Kim Jong Un, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and COAS Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir made it historic for the Chinese leadership to initiate a new multi-polar century.
US President Trump viewed the assembly with wonder and envy. The power dynamics have indeed shifted in Asia’s favor. An eagerly anticipated Asian century has dawned with a bang, signaling a new era of multilateralism in a divided world.
It was heartening to see these great leaders meet in China for one reason: to provide peace an opportunity and promote stability and peace in a world of terror perpetrated through genocide. The leaders boasted an agenda of peace, prosperity, progress and growth to forge a new future for a one-sided world ruled by the same side, with various other options promising a bright future and leveling an unbalanced globe.
The accomplishment was gigantic in the true sense of the term. The parade displayed weapons of war, as well as supersonic missile technology advancements, to demonstrate that they should prepare to have an alternative leadership to the US leadership and Nato. It marked the genesis of a multi-polar world that offset the ancient serious texture of yesteryear.
With the end of World War II began a new era of global politics, with the UN coming into existence and its essential organ, the UNSC, giving a new direction to world politics. The IMF and the World Bank became the organizations of the economic superpowers that determined world economic prosperity and ended up with the Global South suffering from a host of economic diseases.
Political authority was wielded by the UN via the UNSC, forging the new world order and still determining the destiny of nations.
The UNSC emerged as the tool of the powerful P-5 and deteriorated the world through its failure to implement resolutions. Palestine and Kashmir top the list of manifestations of such shame.
The beginning of a new world 2025
Nato against the Warsaw Pact emerged as a game of balance of terror in the political arena. The Warsaw Pact was dissolved following the collapse of the former USSR (Soviet Union), but Nato went on with strength and unity. That strength and unity of Nato are now breaking apart as it is threatened by Russia.
The SCO provided a blueprint of world good governance through its Global Governance Initiative, announced by President Xi Jinping. The UN and the US are quickly losing their credibility and are no longer world stabilising forces. The Global Governance Initiative is a multi-stakeholder vision of Chinese leadership for a new security order and economic structure, with active Global South participation.
The SCO Development Bank is a very important component of this new effort to reverse the usurious conditions of the IMF, which uses member nations as a tool to exploit the West. There is actually a top-level worldwide realignment of economics, politics and security pyramids that must be emphasized in the new paradigm.
The voting rights of member countries provided by the IMF are not the actual strength of their economies because there is a significant change in economic power and capability among member countries. China, Russia, Brazil and India are way ahead in economic strength than their voting rights. The voting rights do not show the actual strength of their economic power.
The SCO and BRICS nations have gone a long way in projecting their political and economic dominance in global affairs.
The axis of power is rapidly shifting to China in international affairs, as regards global politics. The Chinese leadership is very visionary in terms of decision-making, as it has established an alternative for the first world led by the US and its allies.
Economic security has emerged as a prevailing force in state security. China is the undeclared leader of the Global South, eagerly anticipating delivering much-needed security cover and financial assistance as a balancing force to the US.
The beginning of a new world 2025
The Global South had been in a highly vulnerable position when negotiating with the IMF or the World Bank for development and economic advancement. China is now ready, through the mechanism of financial support in the shape of the SCO Bank, AIIB and the Asian Monetary Fund, to grant loans to member nations on extremely concessional terms and conditions.
The BRICS nations have already begun trading among themselves in their own currencies to minimize dollar dependence, strengthening the Chinese yuan. This is a step in the right direction and indeed the next step in shattering dollar dominance.
The Global South is turning to China to guide them in nearly all matters of their comity, from politics to economics and security. That unmistakably indicates a trend towards a multi-polar world founded on the great edifice of equality, mutual respect, and shared prosperity.
China, through mechanisms of financial support from its institutions, also declared the opening of an Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Centre for SCO members to facilitate moving forward with economic progress and security, promoting stability.
China is spending huge amounts of money from its extensive capital pool and, indeed, is far more advanced in AI and its application in economic matters.
The member states, representing nearly half of the world’s population and a quarter of global GDP, possess all the capability to rule global politics. The Strategic Agreement of Russia with China has already made the headlines, sending shockwaves in the Western world for their security paradigm.
The UNSC has nearly collapsed while handling international conflicts. China instituted the International Organisation for Mediation this year with headquarters in Hong Kong for the resolution of disputes peacefully in line with principles enshrined in the UN Charter. Pakistan, Indonesia, Belarus and Cuba became the initial members of the organisation by signing the convention under Chinese leadership.
The beginning of a new world 2025
This has led to multilateralism in global affairs, as institutions under current existence are being confronted by several problems. Trump’s policy of MAGA has greatly eroded the trust of global bodies. His tariff policy set the world in chaos and institutions such as the WTO, unprecedented in economic and trade history. The tariff rollercoaster continues, bringing a very heavy cost in global trade.
IOM under Chinese leadership is certainly going to give an alternative dispute settlement mechanism for the greater interest of the world.
Let us embrace the new multi-polar world order. Geopolitically, Pakistan is placed very strategically in South Asia, bridging the world at large. All trade corridors of East and Central to West Asia can be facilitated by Pakistan through land, sea and aerial linkages. Strategically, Pakistan has been aligned with the West in the past, but has acted as a bridge between the West and China.
With world politics changing with the advent of a new world order shifting towards China and Russia, Pakistan has to take a well-thought-out policy decision to strike a balance between its good rapport with America and its fine strategic relationship with China.
The beginning of a new world 2025
Pakistan must prioritize its trade routes and investment prospects, capitalizing on the newly inked Five-Year Strategic Economic Plan (2025-29) with China to further enhance its all-weather friendship as part of a roundabout policy.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 24 trend news editorial policy.
