appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Zhao Ziwen

When Donald Trump alluded to the Group of Two before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in October, his choice of phrase was widely seen as Washington’s acceptance of Beijing as its peer.
Diplomatic observers said the US leader’s terminology at the time was ill-suited for Beijing’s strategic calculus. And following America’s military operation in Venezuela, China would appear more likely to reject any talk of a G2, they added.
Analysts also said Beijing would seize on the world’s growing distrust of Washington by presenting itself as a stable, non-interventionist power, particularly to Global South countries.
For China, the US military operation in Venezuela has broader implications, according to Sun Chenghao, a fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University.
“As cooperation and rules no longer offer stability, unilateral actions become Washington’s default option,” Sun said. “The G2 became more like a political metaphor, rather than a truly practical co-governance framework.”


The G2 concept is not new in Washington. When it was proposed in the 2000s it implied that Washington and Beijing would work together to address global challenges.
However, Beijing has long kept its distance. In October, for instance, the Chinese foreign ministry said it welcomed shouldering responsibilities with the US as a major power but would always stand with developing countries.
Since the US carried out its raid on Venezuela on Saturday and abducted the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, Beijing has condemned Washington, accusing it of breaching UN rules and asserting that its actions had violated “other countries’ sovereignty”.
At the same time, Beijing outlined its own role in “protecting the charter of the United Nations” and “opposing hegemony and power politics”.
According to analysts, Beijing could be expected to steer clear of the G2 label as it sought to promote its image as a reliable state power, especially to the Global South.
Tony Zhao Xiuye, a predoctoral fellow at the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong, said the White House’s unilateral decision to invade Venezuela made China “less likely” to accept the concept.
“Considering President Trump did not even notify Congress about military actions in Venezuela, there is zero confidence on the Chinese side that the US will coordinate with China on any major global initiatives under any arrangement, G2 or otherwise,” he added.
“China has never promoted any global governance framework that is dominated by one or a few major powers.”
Zhao called the concept of a sphere of influence “outdated in a globalised world” and “against the interests of a rapidly rising Global South”.




The differences in Washington and Beijing’s foreign policy approaches could hardly be more pronounced.
When announcing the US raid in Venezuela on Saturday, Trump described the western hemisphere as Washington’s sphere of influence.
“We are reasserting American power in a very powerful way in our home region,” the US leader said.
In response on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that “dividing spheres of influence and creating geopolitical confrontation will not make a country more secure, nor will it bring peace to the world”.
“Common security and cooperative security are the only sustainable forms of security,” she added.
On Tuesday, Mao said Beijing “never seeks a sphere of influence” in Latin America and that it backed countries in choosing a “development path and partners independently”.
Sun, from Tsinghua University, said Beijing would “emphasise sovereignty, equality and ‘non-interference’ more frequently and firmly in multilateral occasions”.
“This is not only an expression of its position but also a stabilising signal to developing nations that China will not use political coercion as a tool of influence,” he added.

Sun said Beijing would further highlight its cooperation with the Global South based on its partners’ “independent choices”.
Zhao, from HKU, said China now had more opportunities to strengthen certain multilateral frameworks, such as Brics and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, in which Beijing plays an influential role.
“China can demonstrate the benefits of a multilateral, inclusive and just global governance system in contrast to a unilateral order dominated by coercion,” he added.


At UN, Venezuela’s acting president promises elections without setting date

Exiled opposition leader tries to enter Venezuela as Rodriguez meets Trump in US

Maduro’s wife seeks release from US jail, citing worsening heart condition

Trump’s Venezuela oil deal: why China can wait and watch

US-Venezuela conflict

The US, Venezuela and why China is even less keen on talk of a G2

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro arrives for a US court hearing in New York on Monday after being forcibly removed from power on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump has described the western hemisphere as Washington’s sphere of influence. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

The Maduro effect: US raid accelerates Asia’s drift away from Washington

Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro is led into custody by US Drug Enforcement Administration officers at an airbase in New York on Saturday. Photo: Handout/Reuters

One of the helicopters believed to be carrying Venezuela’s Maduro and his wife arrives in New York City on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) speaks to his Cambodian counterpart Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn during a meeting in China’s Yunnan province on December 28. Photo: Agence Kampuchea Presse/AFP

Trump says Venezuela to send US up to 50 million barrels of oil, ‘money controlled by me’

A local walks past a mural featuring oil pumps and wells in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Chinese firm owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction

Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed federal agents as he and his wife make their way into an armoured car en route to a federal courthouse. Photo: TNS

Behind the Venezuela crisis, a US-China tussle over critical minerals

US President Donald Trump, flanked by senior members of his administration, speaks to the press following American military strikes on Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: TNS

In this photo released by the White House, US President Donald Trump monitors American military strikes in Venezuela alongside CIA director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Mar-a-Lago, January 3. Photo: AP

‘Shocked’ China demands US release Maduro after ‘trampling’ Venezuela’s sovereignty

Sun Lei, deputy permanent representative of China to the UN, addresses the UN Security Council on Monday in New York. Photo: AP

Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, leaves after addressing the “emergency” UN Security Council meeting on Monday in New York. Photo: AP

News

China

Diplomacy

Beijing may seize on growing distrust of Washington and pitch itself to Global South as the more stable power, observers say


Beijing may seize on growing distrust of Washington and pitch itself to Global South as the more stable power, observers say.


The US, Venezuela and why China is even less keen on talk of a G2

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing may seize on growing distrust of Washington and pitch itself to Global South as the more stable power, observers say

Beijing may seize on growing distrust of Washington and pitch itself to Global South as the more stable power, observers say