China's UN envoy urges global fairness in dealings, warns against unilateralism

​​​​​​​By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - China's envoy to the UN warned on Wednesday that unilateral actions and bullying tactics are threatening international peace and development, urging the global community to uphold fairness and multilateralism.

China's Permanent Mission convened the Security Council in an informal format to discuss "the Impact of Unilateralism and Bullying Practices on International Relations."

"Development is the universal right of all countries, not the exclusive privilege of a few. The fruits of development should increasingly and more equitably benefit every country and every individual," said Fu Cong.

Fu accused the US of undermining global stability by imposing tariffs and pursuing a "zero-sum game."

"In recent times, in particular, the US has imposed tariffs under various pretexts on all its trading partners. This severely infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of all countries … and severely disrupts the global economic order under the guise of reciprocity and fairness," he said.

He warned that the world is at a "crucial crossroads," asking, "Should we firmly advocate multilateralism, or should we allow unilateralism to spread unchecked? Should we promote democracy in international relations, or should we condone power politics?"

The envoy emphasized the need to resist isolationist policies. "The world needs openness and inclusiveness, not closure and isolation. Economic globalization is the only way to human progress and an irresistible trend of the times” he said.

Fu also urged sovereign equality, stating that "no country has the right to put itself above international law. Bullying the weak, threats and coercion and imposing one's will on others will not win popular support."

Jeffrey David Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, said, "The US is the biggest user of coercive economic measures other than tariffs, putting on sanctions, on different companies, on individuals abroad, on banking sectors abroad. The US is by far the biggest user of unilateral coercive measures, and the UN General Assembly repeatedly declares such unilateral coercive measures to be illegal against the UN Charter."

Sachs noted global security risks tied to American militarism. "No other country comes close to having the US situation of 750 overseas military bases in 80 countries. This by itself, in my opinion, is highly detrimental to American security and a threat to global peace, but it leads to arms buildups all over the world," he said. "These unilateral measures lead to war, and we have several wars raging precisely because countries are not obeying the international system.”