China has increasingly taken on the role of conflict mediator on the world stage – hosting negotiations, proposing peace plans and even deploying personnel to oversee ceasefires. Once reluctant to engage in United Nations peacekeeping activities, it now provides more troops than any other permanent member of the Security Council.
These are dramatic shifts for a country that was once a staunch advocate of non-interference. As its economic and security interests now reach far beyond its borders, China’s engagement on the world stage has understandably grown accordingly. It has a strong incentive to resolve conflicts that threaten its trade, overseas investments, citizens abroad or simply regional stability.
The six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, beginning in 2003, marked China’s first major foray into multilateral conflict mediation.
The talks provide a good example of China’s approach to conflict mediation, summarised in its foreign policy lexicon by the phrase “劝和促谈” (persuading for peace and promoting dialogue): while Beijing had no coercive leverage over Pyongyang, it served as a consistent convenor – urging North Korea to halt its nuclear ambitions while pressing the US to address the country’s security concerns.
China’s ambitions are now broader. It has been positioning itself as a leader of the Global South, embracing inclusive multilateralism more than the West.
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