Download full text
(external source)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://doi.org/10.11588/iqas.2022.2.14102
Exports for your reference manager
Multilateralism to the Rescue? Beijing’s Support for Multilateral Institutions during the COVID-19 Crisis
[journal article]
Abstract During the global COVID-19 crisis, China has portrayed itself as a "champion of multilateralism" - defending UN institutions and its own multilateral initiatives in a variety of spheres. China’s approach has, however, often been criticised for undermining multilateralism through its use of multilate... view more
During the global COVID-19 crisis, China has portrayed itself as a "champion of multilateralism" - defending UN institutions and its own multilateral initiatives in a variety of spheres. China’s approach has, however, often been criticised for undermining multilateralism through its use of multilateral platforms as arenas to contest US leadership. This paper examines the official Chinese discourse on multilateralism during the COVID 19 crisis in the years 2020 and 2021 in light of Beijing’s multilateral diplomacy in the Global South, exemplified by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the China-CELAC Forum (China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum). The authors argue that China’s growing multilateral engagement must be understood in the context of a multilateral system that was already in crisis before the pandemic due to its inability to resolve major global challenges. The term "multilateralism" is essentially used by Beijing to discursively oppose "unilateralism". While its active multilateral engagement may be able to prevent and resolve major global crises in the future, Beijing's approach offers limited multilateral spaces for deliberation and contestation by weaker states and non-state acto... view less
Keywords
China; multilateralism; diplomacy; foreign policy; international cooperation
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Free Keywords
COVID-19 crisis; FOCAC; CELAC; CCF
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 207-230
Journal
International Quarterly for Asian Studies (IQAS), 53 (2022) 2
Issue topic
China beyond China, Part I
ISSN
2566-6878
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0