On Unearned Wins and the Future of the Liberal International Order

View of Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing over the Palestinian territory following Israeli bombardment on May 28, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Menahem KAHANA / AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping this week provided a lesson in how to get the maximum international gain by doing the bare minimum. In his speech at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, he said the Israel-Gaza war “should not continue indefinitely” and “justice should not be absent forever.”

Considering that he didn’t even mention a time limit, these remarks were hardly groundbreaking. Yet they stand in such stark contrast to Western positions on the conflict that they make one thing clear: in the long run, one of the few winners that will emerge from the Gaza crisis is China.

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by Cobus van Staden

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