General Carlos Branco, former Director of the Regional Cooperation and Security Division of NATO’s International General Staff and researcher, recalled the recent words of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Davos forum, assuming that he “remained committed to comprehensive common security and sustainable.”
“China is committed to the sovereignty of all countries. This is defensive realism, which contrasts with the Chinese position of the Cold War era, of offensive realism, when it had strong presences in Africa and Asia”, recalled Carlos Branco.
In the same sense, Júlio Pereira, former deputy director general of the Information and Security Services (SIS) and secretary general of SIRP, recalled that China does not want to have an interventionist vocation, which could reassure the West regarding Beijing’s position facing a possible alliance with Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.
“A Malaysian leader said, not long ago, that his country had had relations with China for around two thousand years and had never had any problems. 500 years ago a Western country arrived there and they immediately had problems. That country was Portugal”, recalled Júlio Pereira in his speech on a panel about the Global Security Initiative for Peace.
The panel was part of the IV international Portugal-China cooperation conference, which took place today in Porto, marking 10 years since the launch of the New Silk Road and the Europe-China 20 strategic partnership, with the objective of contributing to the “relaxation of tension between Europe and China”.
For General Carlos Branco, President Xi Jinping defined a global expansion strategy where he wanted to make it very clear that “the country is committed to collaborating in resolving regional disputes and solving global challenges”, which helps to understand its positioning in the face of the conflict in Ukraine.
“China presented a 12-point peace plan for Ukraine, which illustrates very well its respect for the global security strategy, taking advantage of its leading role”, argued Branco.
The general recalled that China has already played an important role in mediating between Saudi Arabia and Iran and is now seeking to shift its geopolitical attention to the south, especially in Latin America and Africa – an interest perfectly adjusted to its strategy of the New Silk Road, remembered at this conference in Porto.
Júlio Pereira took the opportunity to recall his proposal, made to the Chinese Government, to take advantage of the centuries-old proximity between Portugal and China, to create a Sinology center in Macau.
“When few people in Europe still remembered China, we did nothing”, recalled this expert, saying that this could be a “unique opportunity” for Portugal not to waste its influence in Asia.
The conference was an initiative of the Portugal-China Chamber of Cooperation and Development (CCDPC), the Union of Portugal-China Cooperation and Friendship Associations and the China Observatory, with the Portugal-China Parliamentary Friendship Group as co-hosts, and held in the auditorium of the Manuel António da Mota Foundation, in Porto.
*With Lusa
