International Situation in 2021 and China Diplomacy

The international situation underwent profound evolution in 2021： unilateralism being on the rise， COVID pandemic spreading continuously， traditional hot spots refusing to cool down， and non-traditions security issues being further underlined， and against this backdrop， global governance deficit， trust deficit， peace deficit and development deficit all being unabated， the balance of world force evolving increasingly， major-country relations being readjusted at a profound level， the international order sustaining severe impact， and the international community facing the challenge of many a transnational and global issue.

Protruding Features of International Situation 2021

Joe Biden entering the White House and Donald Trump stepping down in dismay are the most important factor affecting the international situation of 2021. During his presidency， Trump had vigorously pursued unilateralism and the America First policy， unprecedentedly constraining America’s relations with all parties. After taking office， Biden tried to improve America’s relations with its allies， sought to return to multilateral international bodies， and revisited “democratic and human rights diplomacy”. However， as no substantial changes happened to hegemonism， unilateralism and protectionism， a new round of complicating momentum rolled the international situation.

First， as US government readjusted its strategy， big power rivalry intensified even further. After taking office， the Biden administration formed cliques and did its utmost to preserve US hegemonic position. The US frequently signaled consolidating the transatlantic alliance， implemented the so-called Indo-Pacific strategy， and teamed up with allies in exclusive “small clubs”， attempting to “enclose a small courtyard， and build high wall” against China. Moreover， it strengthened its efforts in repressing Russia， ganging up with its allies in accusing Russia of spying， interfering elections and hacking in cyberspace. On issues of Ukraine， Belarus， Nord Stream 2， human rights， values， and military security， it provoked Russia violently， sinking US-Russia relations to a low point in almost thirty years. Through time and again， Biden vowed to repair relations with traditional European allies， his hastily withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan alone seriously damaged US alliance relationship. Besides， The US and the UK instigated Australia to unilaterally tear up its agreement to buy French submarines， which again cast shadow on US-EU relations and once more brought US-EU contradictions to the fore.

At the same time， the US speared no efforts in rigging the so-called “democratic diplomacy”， which was strongly criticized in the international community. On December 9， 2021， the so-called “Summit for Democracy” began， organized by the US single-handed， drawing the line by ideology， and having the basic intent to instigate division and antagonism， transfer domestic contradictions， and preserve US hegemony. In fact， the so-called “American democracy” has long detached from the core of democracy and degenerated to be the game of the rich based on capital. According to statistics， 91 percent of US congressional elections are won by most-funded candidates. The US has long imposed its political institutions and values on others， promoting “American democracy” worldwide， inducing color revolution， and weaponizing “democracy” to interfere in internal affairs of other countries. According to a present toll by the Institute of Politics， the Harvard Kennedy School on young people in the US， only 7 percent of respondents consider American democratic system “healthy” whereas 55 percent of them worry about the future of the US.

Second， the COVID-19 pandemic kept spreading rampantly， and global vaccine distribution was unfair. The pandemic was protracted in ups and downs， keeping a long lasting and repeating momentum. By the end of 2021， accumulated confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 280 million， with more than 5.4 million deaths. Unfair vaccine distribution resulted in the immunization gap， and gaping difference between the North and South attributed to continued spread of the virus. Since its outbreak， the COVID-19 virus had continuously come to variants ranging from Alpha to Beta to Gamma to Delta and on to Omicron， and under the circumstances of vaccination rate exceeding 70 percent in the developed countries whereas that in the developing countries standing at merely 6.1 percent， the developing countries， especially poor countries in Africa， in lack of sufficient vaccine protection， may become a main source of COVID variants， with the general public there facing the consequence. Moreover， the pandemic had stopped labor force from migrating， and led to major changes in talent flow and job pattern， with telecommuting gaining traction， and the so-called “digital nomads” being on the increase. The pandemic has also aggravated imbalance of global population， rich countries aging rapidly whereas countries with surplus young population unable to provide jobs for all of them. As such， quite a few countries like Belgium， Finland and Greece had modified immigration policy， permitting foreign nationals with student or other visas to work directly.