Want China Times, Editorial 2015-04-25
Around 30 leaders of Asian and African countries gathered in Bandung, Indonesia to mark the 60th anniversary of the first Asian-African Conference of 1955, which led to the Non-Aligned Movement.
Xi Jinping, center left, is flanked by Joko Widodo as they walk to the meeting venue for the Asian-African Summit in Bandung, Indonesia, April 24. (File photo/CNA) |
Around 30 leaders of Asian and African countries gathered in Bandung, Indonesia to mark the 60th anniversary of the first Asian-African Conference of 1955, which led to the Non-Aligned Movement.
Both
President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Shizo Abe of Japan attended
the event, even though the two countries have not been actively involved in the
past. This showed the two rivals' efforts to seek allies and forge ties.
The main
goal of Xi's appearance at the event, which was mainly attended by Chinese
officials at the level of the deputy foreign minister in the past, is to
enhance China's global influence as the country is promoting the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank and the "Belt and Road" trade route
initiatives.
Xi urged
Asian and African nations to work together to promote the building of a
community of common destiny for all mankind in his speech at the summit,
calling for trade and investment liberalization and cooperation among
developing countries.
It is
important for China to ease other countries' concerns about its construction in
the disputed South China Sea, when the country is seen as an emerging power
that is stronger and has greater potential than Russia.
Abe, on the
other hand, was seeking to ease tensions created by Japan's involvement in territorial
disputes and controversies surrounding its actions in World War II and a
proposed amendment of the country's postwar pacifist constitution, while
reminding the world about its important role in the Asia-Pacific region.
The small
influence of the Non-Aligned Movement that started 60 years ago shows that only
countries with real strength can change how the global politics work. This
year's summit in Bandung is perhaps a new landmark in which the world sees the
rise of a new power and the reshaping of global balance of power.
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