Xi Jinping Is Done With the Established World Order
AtlanticSep 03, 2023
G20: Leaders Decide on Statement but Soften Ukraine Stance
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Image copyright: Office of the President of the United States [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Facts
In a major diplomatic breakthrough Saturday, G20 leaders managed to adopt a consensus statement for the summit in India, overcoming deep divisions over the war in Ukraine.
The 83-paragraph document, which focused mostly on measures to improve development in the Global South, drew Ukraine's ire as it omitted words from the 2022 statement — avoiding a direct condemnation of Russia to reach a compromise. US President Joe Biden said of the summit and its flurry of bilateral sidebar activities: "This is a big deal...The world stands at an inflection point in history, a point where decisions we make today affect the course of all our futures for decades to come.”
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
The Global South has successfully blocked attempts from Western powers to "Ukrainianize" the G20 agenda, protecting its own legitimate interests and needs. This further indicates that developing countries will no longer accept the use of multilateral tools to promote one-sided perspectives — especially in a forum that hasn't been established to discuss situations such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Pro-establishment narrative
The softened language on Russia's war in Ukraine is not a Western defeat, but rather a strategic move to boost India's global influence in a bid to isolate Russia and China. While substantially similar to the joint statement issued in Bali last year, this latest communique has brought the West closer to major democracies in the Global South, which are key swing actors in world issues. The revised language on the Ukraine front is unfortunate, but ultimately the entire statement is a boon for democracies worldwide.
