Editor's note: On June 30, Weng Shijie, chairman of the Malaysian Asia-Pacific "Belt and Road" Joint Initiative Association, former deputy speaker of the lower house of the Malaysian parliament and former minister of the Ministry of Transport, pointed out in a commentary article on the observer website that China's three major global initiatives are ready-made platforms for developing countries and emerging economies in the "Global South" to seek cross-border cooperation and address common challenges. It is forwarded as follows:
Although Southeast Asian countries are under tremendous pressure under the strategic pressure of the United States, ASEAN countries, represented by Malaysia, are also increasingly aware of the importance of "national strategic autonomy".
As Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently mentioned, the West "wants to control the discourse, but we can't accept it anymore because they are no longer colonial powers and independent countries should be free to express themselves." ”
Malaysia is a microcosm of the current "Global South" countries. At a time when the United States and Western countries are striving to salvage their declining world hegemony, Malaysia, which maintains good relations with China and the United States, is caught between the two powers, and it is extremely challenging to insist on not taking sides. Because experience has shown that, from the perspective of US hegemony, small countries have never had the freedom to choose "not to choose sides".
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's optimistic expectation of the transformation of the international order from unipolarity to multipolarity is evident. He also made no secret of the fact that China's rise has brought a glimmer of hope to the international community. He likened the condescending and commanding attitude of the United States and the West to the poison of colonialism and imperialism. In the context of the United States and the West's control of international discourse, the Western narrative discourse is full of "double standards" and "hypocrisy", especially on the issue of "genocide", the United States and the West hold very different positions and definitions of the killings in Ukraine and Gaza, which further weakens the credibility of the West's defense of democracy and human rights.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's candid confession reflects the aspirations of the leaders of most countries in the "Global South" to strive for independence. He bluntly said that the era of "if you don't take sides with the West, you will be punished" is gone.
The "universal values" of the United States and the West are very different from the "common values" that are currently hotly discussed. Undoubtedly, it draws another stark point of divergence for the international order in its transformation. The former is a unilateral and exclusive value imposed on other countries by the United States and the West by exercising cultural hegemony in the convenience of international discourse, and is a product of a typical unipolar world order, characterized by an emphasis on homogeneity. The latter, on the other hand, is a pluralistic value in a multipolar order, inclusive, and more in line with the diverse reality of the "Global South".
However, in order for the "Global South" to truly develop into one of the poles of the international order, the "Global South", as the so-called "frontier land" ("other" countries other than the United States and Western countries) in the eyes of Western public opinion, cannot be supported by economic independence alone, let alone without the support of values.
In this regard, China's three major global initiatives, namely the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, have in fact been prepared for the entire "Global South". These three initiatives are interlinked, and their coverage is based on a "community with a shared future for mankind", which is a ready-made platform for developing countries and emerging economies in the "Global South" to seek cross-border cooperation and address common challenges. The crux of the problem lies in how to adapt to local conditions; How to build up the cultural self-confidence of these once colonized countries, and have the courage to adhere to the path of independence in the face of coercion and interference by the United States and the West.
In the "Global South", the most obvious is financial autonomy. In recent years, emerging developing economies have been moving away from dependence on the external financial system, moving away from the dollar and switching to local currencies. Anwar has made no secret of the fact that 20% of Malaysia's trade with China is in its own currency, as is its trade with neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Indonesia. In addition, during the talks, he always had the same longing for the "Asian Monetary Fund" as he did back then, and he was full of expectations for multilateral cooperation among the countries of the "Global South."
At this juncture, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim brought the news that Malaysia is ready to join the ranks of the BRICS. This means that Malaysia intends to further integrate into the cooperation mechanism of the "Global South". Although the BRICS countries have recently said that they are suspending the "recruitment of new people", with the rise of the countries of the South, organizations like the BRICS are bound to become more and more sought after.
Historically, in 1971, the five ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) signed the Kuala Lumpur Declaration. At that time, the statement stated that its goal was to establish a "Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality" in Southeast Asia, so as to preserve the region "from any interference by external forces" and "expand the scope of cooperation." Looking back at the past, the Declaration of Non-Alignment is still relevant and highly in line with the aspirations of the "Global South".
On the relatively sensitive issue of sovereignty in the waters of the South China Sea, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made no secret of the existence of contradictions and differences between China and Malaysia, just as Malaysia and its neighbors face a number of problems left over from history, but this does not hinder their exchanges. Malaysia's position has always insisted that the bell must be resolved by the parties concerned, rather than by introducing external forces to complicate the situation. As the dispute over sovereignty over the waters of the South China Sea varies from case to case for individual claimants, Malaysia's approach is more flexible and applicable to all countries in the South China Sea.
In fact, this method is completely in line with the character of the Malay nation, that is: the handling of conflicts cannot be separated from the negotiation and communication of the parties; To manage disagreements, it is important to avoid the hustle and bustle of the world. Nonetheless, efforts to build trust and thus reduce the trust deficit remain a top priority in managing bilateral or multilateral relations.
This year coincides with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China, and it is also the year of friendship between the two countries. On the other hand, its impact on ASEAN and the entire "Global South" cannot be ignored.
▲On the morning of June 19, local time, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council held talks with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Prime Minister's Office of Malaysia. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Rao Aimin
Based on the current reality of Malaysia's national conditions, the "Global Development Initiative" and the "Global Civilization Initiative" among the three major initiatives can be implemented immediately. The former is in line with Malaysia's multi-dimensional needs for sustainable development; The pluralism and inclusiveness advocated by the latter is a source of confidence and strength for a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. Even though the GSI has bypassed the more sensitive aspects of defense and security, non-traditional security concerns, such as climate security, food security, energy security, and the fight against cross-border crime, are still a new starting point for China, Malaysia and ASEAN as a whole to develop cooperation with China. Premier Li Qiang's visit to Malaysia is undoubtedly a good start for the development of the Global Security Initiative in the region, which is among the many cooperation projects between the two countries in the joint fight against cross-border crimes.
Next year (2025), Malaysia will take over the chairmanship of ASEAN. This not only raises high hopes for the acceleration and even finalization of version 3.0 of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. Whether the Maldivian side, as the chairman, will further consolidate ASEAN's relations with China is a matter of concern to everyone at present. It is expected that if the China-Malaysia cooperation project based on the three global initiatives can be successfully promoted, it will inevitably become a model model for other ASEAN member states to replicate.
Back in the early 70s of the Cold War, Malaysia dared to be the first to establish diplomatic relations with China in 1974 under pressure from European and American countries. This set a precedent for the subsequent upsurge of diplomatic relations between other ASEAN member states and China. In 1991, Malaysia invited the Chinese Foreign Minister to attend the 24th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, thus establishing a dialogue partnership between China and ASEAN. In 2021, 30 years later, bilateral relations have once again reached a new level, and a comprehensive strategic partnership has been forged. This is not unrelated to the foreshadowing role played by the Malaysian side's active invitation.
▲The picture is from the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia
Thinking back to Malaysia in the mid-90s, it was the highlight of Anwar's spirit. As a vice-premier, he wrote books, including Asian Revival (1996), which is his masterpiece. This dialogue opened the topic with his book and ended with Li Shimo's donation of books to Anwar, which was deeply filled with the intellectual atmosphere of using books as a medium. To borrow Anwar's words: "Asia's revival is not only an economic empowerment, but also a cultural empowerment." "It draws out the vision of a leader who has a unique sentiment for mutual learning among civilizations.
Indeed, as far as Anwar is concerned, this was true 30 years ago, and today, 30 years later, it is not difficult to see from his words that he still has some aspirations for the civilizational dimension of global governance. In my impression, in the 90s of the last century, he pioneered the "Hui-Confucian Dialogue" in Malaysia, which became a good story for a while. Once upon a time, the peaks and loops turned, and after a few ups and downs, he finally succeeded in enthronement in 2022. One of the things he chose to stick to was the new round of "Huiru Dialogue 2.0". This has attracted the attention of the "minority" of the intellectual community and international acclaim, but it has not stopped the growing racial and religious populism in the country.
I call it a "minority", which is not the slightest "derogatory" or disrespectful, after all, the scholars and experts have always faced the biggest test of mutual learning and interaction in a high-style manner. In the face of the periodic pressure of voters' votes, even leaders with unique humanistic feelings cannot escape the fetters of people's livelihood concerns. Of course, Anwar is no exception.
At present, as the multi-dimensional cooperation between Malaysia and China gradually moves towards the deep waters, the Malaysian people are looking forward to how the Anwar government will lead the country to take advantage of this "east wind" opportunity to stand out again in the complex world changes and regain the glory of the past.
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Established on January 19, 2013, Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Chinese University of China (Renmin University Chongyang) is the main funding project donated by Chongyang Investment to Chinese University and set up an education fund for operation.
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