A picture is preferable than an article. Anyone who observed US President Joe Biden’s facial expressions during the G20 conference in New Delhi recognizes that the US is attending the summit this time to escape defeat or minimize its size.
What divides Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India, and China might be larger than what brings them together. Although the distance between these nations and Brazil and Mexico is great, there is something intimate between them. The outcomes of the BRICS conference last month in Johannesburg, South Africa, demonstrated this.
The conventional global governance structure “has become dysfunctional and deficient,” and the BRICS nations “have become an increasingly entrenched force in international defense.”
The US President did not have to wait for Chen Xiaodong, the Chinese ambassador to Pretoria, to tell reporters that the rules of the game had changed, and that intimidation was no longer effective in dealing with governments throughout the world.
On the surface, the US President’s efforts to mend the schism appear to be effective, but in fact, they will have little effect on the considerable influence that past US administrations’ actions have had on the existing global order.
The BRICS alliance, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is one of the most serious dangers to the United States. With only five members, the group accounts for 42% of the world’s population. By the end of 2022, its contribution to the world economy had reached 31.5 percent.
The US understands that matters will not end there, and that it will be unable to ignore the position of many nations (at least 40, including Indonesia, Bolivia, Argentina, Turkey, Bahrain, and Algeria) that have openly expressed their willingness to join the group’s countries. Twenty nations made official requests for membership, and the organization decided to accept six countries, including Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Iran, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
The organization is spearheading an effort to replace the US dollar with its own shared currency by 2030.
Despite his gloomy demeanor, the US President had a surprise up his sleeve to present on the sidelines of the G20 summit, in which he would test the size of the gap created by Washington’s policies by proposing a project connecting India and Europe via railway and maritime transport lines across the Middle East. This was seen as a reaction to the new Chinese “Silk Roads.”
The project, which aims to create a “more stable, prosperous, and integrated Middle East” and offers “endless opportunities” for clean energy, clean electricity, and laying cables to connect societies, is nothing more than a test balloon, launched by Washington to ensure that a thread of affection remains between it and the countries of the East. Middle.
Despite this, India, the summit’s host country, was eager to respect the American endeavor, seeing “seeds that will make the dreams of future generations greater.”
This was also a priority for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who stated that “the economic project will contribute to the development of infrastructure, which includes railways,” emphasizing that “this economic corridor will provide long-term benefits.”
The “American corridor” is clearly a direct response to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, as it creates a competing road with India as its center, launches concurrently with the Chinese project, and competes with it over the most important points of its passage from the Gulf to Europe.
Welcoming the American effort did not disguise disagreements on other heated topics, most notably the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which revealed the American perspective for the first time.
The conventional global governance structure has “become dysfunctional and deficient,” according to the report, and the BRICS nations have “become an increasingly entrenched force in the defense of international justice.”
The summit’s joint declaration, published after more than 200 hours of continuous deliberations, 300 bilateral sessions, and 15 draft texts, satisfied itself with denouncing the “use of force” in Ukraine to achieve military advances, but without addressing Russia directly.
After much deliberation, the final statement did not expressly denounce Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, instead emphasizing the territorial integrity of the borders, despite the fact that the majority of G20 countries openly opposed the invasion last year.
The outcome of the Ukraine conflict will have a significant impact on the future world order. The Ukrainian trap in which Washington hoped to catch Putin may turn out to be a trap for the US. Everything is riding on Putin’s success.
This scenario would crown Beijing as the head of a single Asian pole, something the US would like to avoid at all costs.
Although the American President denied wanting to “contain” China, he departed New Delhi for Vietnam, confirming American hegemony in Asia and putting the US at the gates of Beijing, where he declared the conclusion of a “broad strategic partnership.”
The actual American motives behind the visit may be exposed if we know that Vietnam has not signed such a partnership, which constitutes the greatest level of diplomatic rapprochement it has created so far, with the exception of Russia, India, South Korea, and China.
Biden stated that “Vietnam and the United States are essential partners” at a “very important” juncture in the world’s history. The emphasis is on “deepening cooperation in the field of key emerging technologies, particularly in the establishment of a more resistant supply chain for semiconductors.”
The BRICS alliance, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is one of the most serious dangers to the United States. With only five members, the group accounts for 42% of the world’s population.
It is well known that semiconductors were at the root of a bitter and protracted conflict between the United States and China.
The goal, according to a statement issued after the agreement’s signing, is to “develop” Vietnam’s capabilities in this regard “for the benefit of American industry,” praising “the ability of (this country in Southeast Asia) to play an essential role in securing solid supply chains for semiconductors.”
In other words, the US would be less reliant on China. Which Biden has stated he does not want to contain.
Who would believe such a partner?
On the surface, the US President’s efforts to mend the rift appear to be successful, but in practice, they will not eliminate the significant impact that successive US administrations’ policies have had on the current global order, and Washington will not be able to return to being the sole leader of the world in the future.
Countries’ leaders will continue to extend their hands to shake hands with President Biden and his successor American presidents, but each time they will count their fingers.
The G20 conference effectively ended unipolarity. The US is no longer in command of the situation. Bullying is no longer acceptable.
There are new overlords, and a new world’s characteristics are beginning to emerge.
