Policy Alert #196 | October 2, 2019

The 74th Assembly of the United Nations General Assembly opened on September 17, 2019, with the high-level debates following on September 24. The first Youth Climate Summit and Climate Action Summit convened ahead of the high-level debates, and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speech to world leaders at the Climate Action Summit set the stage for heated debate both at the UN and domestically over the issue. United States President Donald Trump kicked-off high-spirited exchange with his international counterparts with his speech to the General Assembly, in which he asserted that “The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots,” critiqued the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) classification of China as a developing country, and criticized China for its handling of protests in Hong Kong and Iran for its “violent and unprovoked aggression.” In this Rising Powers Policy Alert, we review the developments in bilateral and multilateral cooperation and discord at the largest annual meeting of world leaders that concluded September 30.

 

CHINA
At the Climate Action Summit, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated his country’s commitment to “faithfully fulfill” its obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. One primary means China plans to combat climate change is through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): “We will continue to promote joint building of a green Belt and Road. We are implementing the Belt and Road South-South Cooperation Initiative on Climate Change, and mobilizing stronger support for international cooperation against climate change through the BRI International Green Development Coalition and other platforms.” Councilor Wang’s speech to the General Assembly countered President Trump’s by expressing support for open trade: “Development is the master key to solving all problems. […] We need to build an open world economy and help developing countries better integrate into the global industrial and value chains.” Responding to a question from the press regarding President Trump’s attacks on China in his speech, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said: “The General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly is a key platform for UN members to voice opinions and exchange views on major issues bearing on world peace and development, and an important opportunity for the international community to discuss how to uphold multilateralism, settle international and regional hotspot issues and address global challenges, rather than an occasion for verbal attack and interference in others’ internal affairs.” Spokesperson Wang also expressed China’s support for Russia’s decision to join the Paris Agreement. Regarding Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s assertion that China should be considered a developed country for WTO purposes, which was later repeated by President Trump, Spokesperson Wang responded, “China is still a developing country, which is a broad consensus of the international community. By adhering to its developing country status, China is standing for the basic rights of fellow developing countries and maintaining international fairness and justice.” Spokesperson Wang further dismissed Trump’s call for China to honor the Sino-British Joint Declaration in its dealings with Hong Kong: “We have repeatedly stated our position on issues relating to Hong Kong. I stress again that Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs. No foreign government, organization or individual has any right to interfere.” 

• The state-directed China Daily criticized the US for its inaction on climate change: “The complementarity of countries, in technology, environmental capacity and funds, should be coordinated and tapped to make the fight a joint campaign, rather than a lone fight. But as long as the US insists on transplanting its belief in exceptionalism to the climate cause, the dire warnings of not just activists such as Thunberg but also scientists from around the world will continue to be a lullaby for those who prefer to doze than act.”
• In response to the suggestion that China is a developed country, the nationalist Global Times countered: “The power of a country is often showed in terms of the GDP, but the real life of ordinary people is shaped more by GDP per capita. China with a huge population occupies a rare position in international relations: its comprehensive national  strength is rising relatively fast compared to other countries, while the modernization of people’s real life needs more time to improve. […] The Chinese people have the right to continue to improve their living standards. If the West does not mistake China for a developed country, it is conducive to support this right of the Chinese.” 
• The independent, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post supported Thunberg’s efforts at the Climate Action Summit: “Her fury is largely justified; it is the activism of young people that has spurred the world into fresh action. […] The world has a road map and many tools and technology [to address climate change]; now it also needs the will.”
• He Yin, board member of the United Nations Association of China and an associate professor at the China Peacekeeping Police Training Center, Chinese People’s Police University, penned an op-ed for the China Daily that praised his country’s contributions to the United Nations peacekeeping operations: “China sometimes find itself caught in a dilemma: if it shies away from international affairs, some may accuse it of not shouldering its global responsibilities, and if it takes [sic] active part in international affairs, some may accuse it of being ‘assertive’ and trying to reshape the world order. Nevertheless, as its strong support for UN peacekeeping shows, China is determined to shoulder its global responsibilities. And with the United States retreating from the international organizations, China’s efforts to strengthen the UN system and other global and multilateral bodies will help strengthen and sustain the world order.”

 

INDIA
In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Modi highlighted India’s contributions to the fight against climate change, including providing one million US dollars to fund the installation of solar panels onto the UN building. On the sidelines of the General Assembly, Modi met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and “reiterated India’s support for giving priority to diplomacy, dialogue and confidence building in the interest of maintaining peace, security and stability in the Gulf region, which is of vital importance for India.” In a press conference with President Trump at the UN, Modi tiptoed around Trump’s suggestion that the US could become involved in the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. 

• Although the left-leaning Hindu “welcomed” Prime Minister Modi’s comments at the UN Climate Action Summit, the editorial board pointed out the irony of the PM’s strong words against the recent decision to open coal mining to foreign direct investment and the aged National Plan on Climate Change: “Advancing the national climate agenda in the spirit of Mr. Modi’s action-over-words idiom requires the Central government to come up with a strong domestic action plan.”
• Ajay Vir Jakhar, chairman of the Bharat Krishak Samaj charity for farmers, encouraged the Indian government to address the agricultural sector’s role in climate change in an op-ed for the liberal Indian Express: “Unrestrained profiteering by agri-businesses is expediting climate change. Starved of funds, the exhausted public research system has taken a similar and easier path to maximise farm yields by monocropping and use of chemicals, encouraging agricultural practices that emit human-induced greenhouse gases. […] Present practices extract a heavy environmental footprint, completing a vicious circle that makes agriculture more problematic while agriculture itself also intensifies climate change, compelling yields to be maximised.”
• The centrist Times of India supported the efforts of the UN Climate Action Summit and encouraged G20 members to do more in not only in terms of mitigation, but also in adaption: “Low income countries need help in adaptation, or ways to address the impact. This is an area where countries which make up a forum such as G20 should do a lot more.”
• C. Raja Mohan, director of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore and contributing editor of foreign affairs at the Indian Express, “The PM is aware that cutting a trade deal with Trump, will make it a lot easier to deal with his administration on a range of issues including terrorism, Kashmir and the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. […] A new trade agreement must be about preparing India for profound changes in the global economic order, buffeted by Trump’s politics as well as the unfolding technological disruption. […] Getting India’s most important trade relationship right in the near term and charting a bold course for a mutually beneficial commercial partnership with the US over the long term are urgent and worthy goals in themselves.”

 

JAPAN
In his address to the UN General Assembly, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a pitch for Japan’s election to the Security Council: “For the UN, which has now come three quarters of a century since its founding, structural reform, especially that of the Security Council, is absolutely imperative. We aim for the early realization of such reform. In addition, Japan is standing in the 2022 election. By once again receiving the support of numerous countries, we wish to serve as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and make our best efforts towards the further realization of the principles of the UN.” On the sidelines of the UN, Prime Minister Abe and President Trump signed a joint statement announcing that they “confirm and welcome final agreement on the United States-Japan Trade Agreement and the United States-Japan Digital Trade Agreement,” the details of which are outlined by a US Trade Representative Fact Sheet.

• The progressive Asahi Shimbun criticized the Abe administration for doing so little to combat climate change: “The nation plans to build many coal-fired thermal power plants at home and abroad, and the government’s carbon emissions reduction target is uninspiring at best. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sat out the summit, and Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced no plans to enhance the nation’s countermeasures. It would be totally understandable if the rest of the world was left wondering whether Japan shares any sense of crisis.” The Asahi further took the government to task for the opacity in trade negotiations with the US: “The Japanese public has been given no detailed account of what the two governments have actually discussed and how they have reached this ‘final agreement,’ which is marked by major Japanese concessions. Will the U.S. tariffs on Japanese cars and car parts really be eliminated? What other issues will the two countries negotiate? Abe needs to fulfill his responsibility to answer these and other questions about the trade agreement, which he has failed to do so far […].”
• The liberal Mainichi Shimbun, too, called out Prime Minister Abe for the poor optics of his lack of action at the summit: “[Japan] has been criticized by countries across the world for relying on coal-fired power plants to supply its energy. Around 70 world leaders attended the Climate Action Summit, but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was not one of them.” Regarding the recent trade deal, the Mainichi described the deal as “far from a ‘win’ for Japan,” and demanded that the Diet read the final deal closely before ratifying it: “The Japanese government has explained that the Japan-U.S. joint agreement signed by both Trump and Abe includes a provision that will avoid any additional tariffs. However, the phrasing only goes as far as to adhere to the joint statement that was released in September of last year. Considering how unpredictable President Trump is, it’s hardly a safeguard. […] Legislators should thoroughly deliberate whether the draft pact benefits Japan.”
• The centrist Japan Times celebrated the efforts of young people for their worldwide protests to fight climate change ahead of the Youth Climate Summit, but noted that the way forward is hardly an easy one: “Japan should play a leading role in this effort. It has spearheaded environmental action in the past, helping produce the Kyoto Protocol, the Nagoya Protocol and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. That activism has waned, however, as Japan struggles with its own energy plans in the wake of the shutdowns of most nuclear power plants following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.”
• The conservative Yomiuri Shimbun lauded the announcement of a finalized trade deal, but expressed hope that there would be more to the deal than has already been announced: “As long as Japan concedes on agricultural imports, it is reasonable for the United States to work toward eliminating tariffs on car imports from Japan. Tokyo should persistently work on Washington to achieve that goal.”

 

RUSSIA
In his speech at the 11th Conference on Facilitating Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took a moment to lambast the US government for failing to supply visas to members of the Russian delegation in a timely manner before launching into a critique of recent US policy failures related to nuclear proliferation: “Regrettably, our conference was overshadowed by an outrageous incident linked with the failure of the US to fulfil its commitments on the timely issuance of visas for members of the delegations coming to work at the UN. Almost every member of the Russian delegation that was declared to take part in today’s conference failed to receive visas even though we complied with all the required procedures. Apparently, it is time to consider moving these conferences from New York to more stable venues where the host country treats its commitments responsibly.” As part of his introductory remarks during a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Lavrov thanked the Japanese Embassy in Moscow for successfully interceding to the US on Russia’s behalf in acquiring a visa for one of their translators: “[W]e will come to you if there are any additional problems between us and our Amercian friends.” As the UN General Assembly convened in New York, in Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced that Russia would pursue accession to the Paris Agreement. 

• Kirill Martynov, political editor at Novaya Gazeta, penned an op-ed for the independent Moscow Times that analyzed why Russian reception of Greta Thunberg’s speech was so negative: “Ever since the end of the Soviet experiment, we have been a nation of individualists that avoids public service at any cost — our memories of endless Communist party meetings are too raw. […] Perhaps the emergence of a powerful ecological movement in our country — which is still demoralized by a post-Soviet imperial complex and is still trying to ‘eat to its heart’s content’ — will be the prologue to a new Russian democracy.”
• The nationalist Pravda Report featured an op-ed by UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action Summit Luis Alfonso de Alba that praised for youth activists’ efforts at the Youth Climate Summit.

RPI acknowledges support from the MacArthur Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York for its activities.