Peter Wilson

China and International Institutional Reform

China's think tank world is very active on international issues. Today I went to a seminar we organised with Renmin (People's) University in Beijing on international institutional reform, with professors from across Beijing. They are listened to carefully by the central government, as well as educating the next generation.

From what I heard today China wants a new and better system for the twenty first century as much as the UK does. Scholars worry in particular about proliferation, about what the global financial crisis proved about interconnectedness, about making the UN more representative, and about when to intervene. They accept that the world expects more from a growing China. But they point out that if China gets too close to the West, it will lose the influence we all want it to exercise on countries like North Korea, Iran, Burma or Sudan.

The reason we had this conversation today is because as we talk about institutional reform, we want to engage with other key powers, like China, rather than just try to push our own views without listening.  But a key issue for all of us is urgency.  Some scholars thought that the West has a bias towards intervention. We don't: it is a last resort.  But we are prepared to contemplate it when the alternatives are worse. I tend to think that China's doctrine of non-interference can be an excuse for inactivity - but was reminded that the interpretation of this doctrine has changed quite dramatically, and that the academic community here think it needs to change further. We all recognised that a new administration in the US created new opportunities, and new obligations, for the rest of us - on disarmament, on Iran, on climate change and on the effectiveness of the UN itself, including Security Council reform. We all recognised our joint interests in financial stability and better global governance.

Posted at 14:41 08 December 2008 by Peter Wilson  |  Comments[0]