Xi congratulates Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu on election as president of Fiji

In mid-October, 77-year-old University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer visited China. He delivered lectures at Chinese universities and engaged in a debate on global order and US-China relations with Yan Xuetong, director of the Institute of International Studies, Tsinghua University. During book signings and photo sessions, he was warmly welcomed by Chinese readers.

Mearsheimer is a prominent realist scholar in international relations. He gained recognition for his 2001 book The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, which argues that conflict between great powers is inevitable. This viewpoint has sparked significant debate about great power relations.

More than 20 years later, the international landscape has shifted dramatically, but Mearsheimer's views remain unchanged. In an exclusive interview with the Global Times reporters Liu Xin, Zhao Juecheng and Yang Sheng in Beijing, Mearsheimer shared his concerns about current issues like China-US relations and the Ukraine crisis, criticizing US foreign policy. He also predicts that security competition between the US and China will intensify.

As a scholar rather than a politician, Mearsheimer is confident in his theory, but he emphasizes his openness to debate, and looks forward to future China-US ties proving him wrong. The following is part of the interview with Mearsheimer.
US foreign policy fosters chaos

GT: In recent years, China has described the global situation as a "major change not seen in a century." What are your thoughts on this?

Mearsheimer: I think it's true. The structure of the system has changed fundamentally.

When I was young, the world was bipolar. The US-Soviet competition defined international politics in large part. The Soviet Union disappeared in December 1991, and we went from a bipolar world to a unipolar world. In around 2017 that unipolar world came to an end, and we moved into a multipolar world. We went from a world where the US was the only great power on the planet to one where the US, China, and Russia were all great powers.

This is the first time that we have faced a multipolar world since World War II when you go from unipolarity to multipolarity.

The change in China-US relationship has also been huge. During the unipolar period, China-US relations were generally very good. Then when we went from unipolarity to multipolarity, which meant China was now a great power, it was a peer competitor of the US, and relations between the US and China fundamentally changed and became much more conflictual.

GT: What is your primary concern regarding complicated international relations at this time?

Mearsheimer: I'm concerned about three big issues. One is I'm concerned about the China-US relationship. I have long argued that relationship would be intensely competitive. I'm concerned that competition might turn into a war, and I don't want that to happen.

I'm also deeply concerned about the war in Ukraine and the possibility of escalation where the US, and NATO more generally, come into the conflict. Conflict between Russia on one side and Ukraine and the West on the other side will go on for decades… The US has done a terrible job handling the situation in Ukraine. The US is principally responsible for causing the war in Ukraine.

Then I'm concerned about the Middle East, and the wars that are taking place there. As is the case with Ukraine, it is possible that the US and Russia could be pulled into a war in the Middle East, although that's not likely.

GT: Do you think US foreign policy is contributing to global stability or fostering chaos?

Mearsheimer: I think it's fostering chaos if you have to choose between those two descriptions. It's fostering chaos in Ukraine and the Middle East. The US should have acted in fundamentally different ways.

The principal cause of the war in Ukraine was the West's efforts to bring Ukraine into NATO. The US was the driving force behind that decision. And the Russians made it clear from the very beginning that was unacceptable. Nevertheless, we continue to push to bring Ukraine into NATO.

Instead of trying to shut the war down, the US has, if anything, sought to push it forward, aiming to keep it going so Ukraine can defeat the Russians. The US should not have tried to bring Ukraine into NATO. Once the war started, the US should have gone to great lengths to prevent it.

With regard to the Middle East, the US should have gone to great lengths to push Israel to accept the Palestinian state, which is the root cause of the problem in the Middle East. The US should now be trying to prevent the war in Gaza, shut down the war with regard to Hezbollah, and make sure that the war that is unfolding involving Iran on one side and the US and Israel on the other side is brought to an end immediately. But the US is not doing that. The US is helping the Israelis to cause greater and greater trouble in the Middle East.

If you look at our performance on the world stage, we have been fostering chaos, not contributing to international stability.

GT: The advancement of technology has repeatedly altered the course of human history. Another renowned realist, Henry Kissinger, also began focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence on international relations in his later years. Do you think AI or other emerging technologies could change the "tragedy of great power politics?"

Mearsheimer: I don't think AI would transform the tragedy of great power politics. Why do we have this tragedy? It's because there is no higher authority in the international system that can come to the rescue of a state if it gets in trouble. At the same time, in the international system, you have powerful states that sometimes have bad intentions toward you.

AI doesn't solve that problem. What we need is a higher authority. We need a night watchman that can protect you. As long as you don't have a higher authority, AI doesn't matter.

AI could significantly influence how security competition is waged. Nuclear weapons did exactly that. Nuclear weapons, in a way, were revolutionary weapons. They are weapons of mass destruction. We've never seen anything that creates destruction on the scale of nuclear weapons. And nuclear weapons have all sorts of consequences on how states interact with each other.

However, nuclear weapons do not change the fundamental nature of international politics. We live in a nuclear world today. Yet we have a China-US competition, just like we had a US-Japan competition in the 1930s and early 1940s when there were no nuclear weapons.

Competition not 'bad guy' games

GT: In 2001, you published The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. According to your theory, known in academic circles as "offensive realism," competition and conflict between China and the US are inevitable during China's rise, and the US will strive to contain China. What led you to this conclusion?

Mearsheimer: I've long argued that once China rose and once China became powerful, the US would move in to make sure that China didn't become too powerful. This is the tragedy of great power politics.

The US and China had excellent relations during the unipolar period. The US pursued a policy of engagement. I argued at the time that once China became really prosperous, it would translate that economic might into military might which China should have done. I'm not being critical of China. The US would fear China and you would have this security competition set in. This just happens with great powers. It's not peculiar to China or peculiar to the US.

A lot of Chinese people think that the root of the problem is American behavior. The Americans are the bad guys. Many Americans think the root of the problem is the Chinese are the bad guys. This is not my view.

This is just how international politics works. When you have two very powerful states, they are going to end up fearing each other, and they are going to end up competing with each other. There's no way around that.

GT: You discussed Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan island and its negative impact on China-US relations with Chinese media. You mentioned that while a clash in the Taiwan Straits is unlikely in the near future, competition over the island will continue. What led you to this conclusion?

Mearsheimer: It was not smart for Nancy Pelosi to come to Taiwan and make provocative remarks. It is in America's interest to not speak loudly when it comes to Taiwan, because Taiwan is such a hot-button issue for China. What Pelosi did and others have done and will do is not smart.

I think the Taiwan question is a remarkably dangerous situation. Because for China, Taiwan is sacred territory. At the same time, the US wants to keep Taiwan on its side of the ledger, because Taiwan is strategically important to the US. If the US gave up on defending Taiwan, that would have negative strategic consequences. What we have here is a situation where Taiwan matters enormously to China, and it matters enormously to the US.

My view is that despite this dangerous situation, it's not likely that we will have a war anytime soon over Taiwan. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I think it's not likely.

GT: Could you share your predictions for the future of China-US relations?

Mearsheimer: We already have an intense security competition. It has been somewhat dampened by the fact that the US is pinned down in Ukraine and pinned down in the Middle East. If the US was not pinned down in Ukraine and in the Middle East, the security competition in East Asia would be more intense.

Moving forward, this security competition is not going to go away. We will likely have some major crises in the decades ahead. But let's hope that leaders from both China and the US act smartly and find diplomatic solutions to the crises and don't end up in a shooting war with each other.

I just want to be very clear I'm not happy about the tragedy of great power politics. With regard to China-US relations, I hope that I'm wrong. I hope that over the next five years, the US and China work out harmonious relations and we all live happily ever after. Obviously, I don't think that's going to happen.

What would prove me wrong is if we had good relations. In other words, if China could rise peacefully. Let's hope that I'm wrong.

Not 'a dinosaur' in China

GT: You assert that the US cannot accept China emerging as a peer power. What motivates you to engage in these exchanges with China?

Mearsheimer: I don't think the root of the problem is Chinese behavior. I don't think the Chinese are the bad guys, and the Americans are the good guys. I think this is just how international politics works. And although I'm an American, the fact is that this is a case of a tragic situation.

I think it's very important that people hear my argument and think about it. You don't have to agree with me, but it's very important to understand the argument. Because if you're interested in maximizing our prospects of avoiding a hot war, understanding the nature of the conflict really matters.

GT: What's the difference between your Chinese audience and your US audience?

Mearsheimer: From the Soviet Union collapsed until about 2017, when we moved into a unipolar moment, the US foreign policy was all about what I call liberal hegemony. What we were trying to do was spread liberalism around the world. We were very powerful. And we had all these liberal ideas about international politics.

I was considered to be a dinosaur in the US. Nobody was interested in listening to me. Most people in the US said that my thinking about international politics was outdated and that liberal ideas were the wave of the future.

I first came to China in 2003 and I came numerous times after that and would talk to the Chinese people about my theory and about great power politics, they did not think I was a dinosaur in large part. Chinese thinkers were interested in great power politics.

Now, with the end of unipolarity and the coming of multipolarity, and the fact that we now have this security competition between the US and China, I think more people in the US pay attention to me.

China and India recently reached resolutions on relevant issues concerning the border. At the moment, the Chinese and Indian frontier troops are implementing the resolutions in an orderly way, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference on Wednesday in response to a question regarding the process of disengagement in the India-China border. 

While analysts highlighted that the disengagement marks an end to the standoff, they emphasized that both countries need to collaborate to restore bilateral ties and India needs to shift focus from geopolitical rivalry and embrace the chance of meaningful cooperation. 

India Today reported on Wednesday that Indian and Chinese military commanders are scheduled to meet at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to confirm the removal of temporary structures and vehicles. 

Indian Express said on Wednesday that India and China have completed the process of disengagement in two border areas. Citing sources, it said patrolling will commence soon, adding that talks would continue at the local commanders' level and there will be an exchange of sweets on Thursday.        

"Disengagement is the first step on implementing the resolution, meaning Chinese and Indian troops will no longer confront each other directly at the border. This does not restore the situation to what it was before April 2020 but rather establishes a buffer zone between the two forces to reduce tensions," Liu Zongyi, director of the Center for South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

The next step may involve further consultations on implementing patrols, but the actual implementation may have to wait until spring next year when weather condition is suitable, Liu said.

According to a report from New Delhi Television on Tuesday, China and India "will each continue to have surveillance options" and will inform the other prior to stepping out on patrol "to avoid any miscommunication."

Liu said that the disengagement at the two areas will lay the groundwork for negotiations on similar arrangements and portals along the western section of the China-India border and other areas.

The resolution reached by China and India has garnered widespread attention. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press conference on Tuesday that "we're closely following the developments… We welcome any reduction in tensions along the border." He also noted that the US has spoken with its Indian partners and been briefed on the matter but did not play any role in the resolution.

"US has long viewed India as a key tool and frontline force to contain China. With fewer border disputes between China and India, the US loses a major lever to fuel discord between the two nations. However, the gradual resolution of the border issue is clearly in the best interest of both China and India," Liu said. 

Liu said that China remains committed to viewing India as a development partner and hopes both nations can advance together and share the opportunity for development. 

Achieving these goals requires joint efforts, and China cannot do it alone. Both countries need to collaborate to restore bilateral ties. India should move beyond an outdated Cold War thinking and avoid viewing US-China competition as a strategic opportunity. Instead, it needs to shift focus from geopolitical rivalry and power balancing, minimize unnecessary conflicts, and embrace the chance for meaningful cooperation, Liu said. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China and Russia have found the right way for neighboring major countries to get along with each other which features non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party.

In his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi said China-Russia relations have come a long way, and made a series of pioneering achievements.

Xi arrived in Kazan earlier in the day for the 16th BRICS Summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on "BRICS Plus" countries to strive for common security, common development and harmony among civilizations.

Xi made the remarks while addressing the "BRICS Plus" leaders' dialogue.

Noting that the collective rise of the Global South is a distinctive feature of the great transformation across the world, Xi said that Global South countries marching together toward modernization is monumental in world history and unprecedented in human civilization.

Meanwhile, peace and development still faces severe challenges and the road to prosperity for the Global South will not be straight, he pointed out, urging "BRICS Plus" countries to use collective wisdom and strength and stand up to their responsibility for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi said that "BRICS Plus" countries should uphold peace and strive for common security, come forward together to form a stabilizing force for peace, strengthen global security governance, and explore solutions to address both symptoms and roots of hotspot issues.

"BRICS Plus" cooperation has accelerated the transformation and improvement of the existing world order by providing multiple alternatives. The expansion of BRICS will, in fact, contribute to the cohesion of consensus among the Global South amid a complicated international background, said Chinese experts.

President Xi has chaired or attended the BRICS summits for 12 years running, promoted the establishment of the New Development Bank, and put forward the "BRICS Plus" cooperation format and a good number of important proposals and initiatives, giving a strong boost to BRICS cooperation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.

Through this summit, China stands ready to work with other BRICS countries to open a new horizon in the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation, and make BRICS' contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind, Lin said.

BRICS leaders issued a joint declaration covering a wide range of issues from the reform of the United Nations (UN) to ongoing global conflicts, following the association's summit that took place on Wednesday in Kazan.

New centers of power, policy decision-making and economic growth are emerging in the world, BRICS countries said Wednesday in the Kazan Declaration.

The BRICS countries also called for the reform of the Bretton Woods system to enhance the representation of emerging markets and developing countries in the Kazan Declaration, according to Xinhua.

In the process of the collective rise of the Global South, the BRICS Plus countries have played a role in introducing alternatives to the tools that maintain the West-dominated international order, Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Many developing countries are worried about what is happening around the world, be the economic or security problems, that's why they came here to Kazan for the summit, that's why Global South countries want to follow BRICS, Lidia Zhelamkova, a Russian journalist, told the Global Times.

BRICS Plus has played a very important role in promoting consensus among the Global South and has positively contributed to its economic development, Song Wei, a professor from the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

Reaching consensus

In recent years, there have also been doubts as to whether further BRICS expansion would affect the organization's unity and the process of reaching a consensus. Al Jazeera published an opinion piece last year saying that taking in more members too quickly could leave BRICS incoherent, weakening rather than strengthening the bloc.

Shadrack Andile, a reporter from BRICS Africa Channel, said that the essence of pushing forward cooperation between BRICS and Global South countries is for countries to reach consensus, and that the new members will not dilute its unity. "Bringing more countries into BRICS means leaving no one behind. It's not about competing; it's about collaborating for a better world."

BRICS has sent a clear message that the status quo in global governance is no longer acceptable to the majority of the world's population. The persistent economic and political disparities will become increasingly untenable, driving more countries to seek alternative alliances. The success of BRICS initiatives, such as the New Development Bank, is solidifying the appeal of the BRICS model, Ahmed Moustafa, director of the Asia Center for Studies and Translation in Egypt, told the Global Times.

In the foreseeable future, the BRICS mechanism will evolve into a formidable force, influencing the decisions of established global institutions. The growing membership and influence of BRICS will send a powerful message that the future of global governance lies in collaborative, inclusive and equitable models, said Moustafa.

Foreign intelligence agencies have been conducting remote sensing detection on China through high-precision satellites, with the intention of observing and stealing secrets from space in recent years, China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) revealed on Wednesday.

The MSS stated that certain countries' intelligence agencies have conducted infiltration activities toward China's aerospace sector, using bribery, networking, and coercion to target Chinese researchers to steal the cutting-edge advancements in the aerospace technology.

The national security agencies, together with relevant departments, have investigated and dealt with several illegal cases in which the cutting-edge advancements in the aerospace field were stolen through bribery, coercion, and manipulation effectively dealing a blow to foreign spy and intelligence agencies, according to the MSS.

Space is increasingly becoming a key area for economic growth, military conflicts, and national security. Major powers and medium-sized powers all prioritize the development of space.

The competition for space resources is growing increasingly intense, as space exploration confronts a scarcity of orbital and spectrum resources. High-speed debris, including abandoned satellites and rocket remnants, is proliferating in space, heightening the risk of collisions with spacecraft, said the MSS.

The arms race in space is intensifying, with some Western countries establishing space combat forces and honing their space operational capabilities, often positioning China as their primary competitor in this domain. They promote theories of space dominance and engage in an arms race, exerting considerable effort to suppress and contain China, thereby threatening the peaceful environment in space, according to the MSS.

China urges Japan to face and reflect on its history of aggression, act prudently on historical issues and to make a clean break with militarism, and to earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community with concrete actions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday, after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reportedly sent an offering to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine. 

The Yasukuni Shrine is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarists responsible for the war of aggression. The place honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals with grave responsibilities for the war crimes committed during that war of aggression, Mao said.

Ishiba, who took office on October 1, made a ritual "masakaki" tree offering under his name as prime minister on Thursday on the occasion of the shrine's autumn festival, according to Jiji Press.  

Kyodo News cited a source close to Ishiba, saying that he is expected to refrain from paying a visit in person.

Lü Chao, an expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the attitudes of Japanese politicians toward the shrine reflect their understanding of history. With many politicians leaning right, Ishiba is apparently under pressure from right-wing factions, which forced him to adopt a more rightist stance.

Japanese politicians should adopt a clear stance and a correct understanding of history. If they cling to remnants of militaristic thought and waver on the issue of visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, it will be difficult for neighboring countries to view Japan with trust, Lü said. 

South Korea on Thursday voiced "deep regret" after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent an offering to a war shrine in Tokyo seen as a symbol of its militaristic past, according to Yonhap News Agency. 

"We urge the leaders of the new Japanese cabinet to squarely face history and show through action humble reflection and genuine atonement for past wrongdoings," South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a commentary.

China expresses strong indignation over and opposition to the European Parliament resolution, and will lodge serious protest with the EU, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday, after the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemns the Chinese government's "human rights violations" in Xinjiang, Xizang, Hong Kong, Macao and the Chinese mainland.

The European Parliament resolution lacks factual basis and calls white black. It attacks the human rights situation in Xinjiang, grossly interferes in China's internal affairs and judicial sovereignty, and seriously violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations, Mao said.

It's the Chinese people, not the European Parliament, who have the best say on the human rights situation in China. Xinjiang today enjoys social stability and economic growth and the people there live a happy life. It is enjoying development progress like never before, and China's Xinjiang policy is widely supported by the people. These are facts that no one can deny, Mao noted.

While showing concerns for the unfounded accusation of "forced labor" in Xinjiang, the European Parliament turns a blind eye to serious human rights issues in Europe and humanitarian disasters in Gaza. This again reveals to the world the double standards it applies, the spokesperson said.

"We strongly urge the European Parliament to immediately stop making up lies to smear China, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and judicial sovereignty in the name of human rights, and stop applying double standards on human rights issues," Mao said.

The European Parliament is in no position and has no right to lecture others on human rights. Instead, it needs to reflect on itself, abandon arrogance and prejudice, see squarely China's achievements on human rights and respect China's sovereignty and the human rights development path independently chosen by the Chinese people, Mao noted.

In response to the European Parliament's resolution, the spokesperson for China's Mission to the EU said in a statement on Friday that the relevant resolution adopted by the European Parliament makes false accusations and confounds black and white. By maliciously attacking the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang and relevant judicial cases, it constitutes a gross interference in China's internal affairs and judicial sovereignty, seriously violating international law and basic norms of international relations. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this act.

Xinjiang, with its social stability, economic development and people living and working in peace and contentment, is currently in the best period of development in its history. The European Parliament has neither the right nor the qualification to criticize the human rights situation in Xinjiang, the spokesperson noted.

The European Union boasts that it respects the rule of law, but the European Parliament has repeatedly meddled in other countries' judicial cases, blatantly violating the spirit of the rule of law and fully exposing its hypocrisy and double standards. The facts cannot be distorted and the truth cannot be denied. Any attempt to attack and slander China's policy on Xinjiang, smear China's image or hinder China's development is bound to fail, the spokesperson said.

The China Coast Guard (CCG) said that its formations 2901, 1305, 1303 and 2102 conducted law enforcement patrols in the waters surrounding Taiwan island on Monday.

It is a practical action to lawfully enforce control over Taiwan island in accordance with the one-China principle, said Liu Dejun, spokesperson of the CCG.

Nearly 1,000 identity cards that were lost were collected by the lost-and-found office of a train station in South China’s Guangdong Province during China’s National Day holidays, widely referred as the “Golden Week,” according to China Central Television (CCTV) on Tuesday.

The increase in lost items followed a surge in passenger traffic at major train stations, leading to a significant increase in items reported lost at the lost-and-found offices, according to the CCTV.

A staff member at Guangzhou South Railway Station told media that around 1,000 identity cards were found from October 1-6. 

The lost-and-found office was “overwhelmed,” with the number of lost items doubling. Items such as identification documents, backpacks, and suitcases filled multiple storage racks, according to the report.

Railway officials suggested that travelers who lose their belongings at stations or on trains can retrieve them in a variety of ways, including by phone, online websites, or on-site enquiries.