By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-04-02 06:01:30 | Updated at 2025-04-03 06:18:38
1 day ago
China should cultivate more friends in global politics, as these partnerships with other countries could be the trump card in Beijing’s rivalry with the US, according to a leading Chinese international relations expert.
Li Wei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said on Saturday that whichever of the two powers could win support from the most third parties would “emerge victorious in the competition”.
He made the remarks during a virtual seminar hosted by the China Macroeconomy Forum think tank. The comments came amid growing debate over how Beijing should cope with US President Donald Trump’s blows to bilateral ties and the world order.
Li called for Beijing to “make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible” in its competition with Washington, evoking a slogan from former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
Trade tensions are poised to worsen this week as US President Donald Trump is set to unveil “reciprocal tariffs” against countries with their own duties on American goods or other policies the White House views as unfair trade barriers. The measure is expected to unleash chaos for global businesses and escalate frictions between the US and dozens of countries, friends and foes alike.
Washington has continued to ratchet up pressure on Beijing. It imposed sanctions on Hong Kong’s departing police chief and five other officials on Monday, and last week Washington labelled China as its top military and cyber threat and blacklisted over 50 more Chinese tech firms.
