The West's propaganda war will fail to contain China

Although the world has entered 2023 with multiple challenges, Western hegemonic powers seem incessant in their propaganda war against China, intensifying it with objectives of undermining and containing China, by hook or by crook.

The hegemonic powers have deigned to use multiple traditional and nontraditional tools like trade, technology, cultural invasion and ideology to strengthen their malicious propaganda campaigns.

With a widened scope and more aggressive applications, these powers cling to the presumption that a well designed, well explained and well communicated lie is worth more than 1,000 facts. Following this philosophy, they have coined terminologies like "debt trap", "violation of human rights", "curbs on freedom of speech" and many others, applying them even to China's partners.

For example, the United States has allocated $200 million in the name of democracy and gender equality for Pakistan on an annual basis. This is one example from one country. The real target can be the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The corridor project is subject to sabotaging efforts to deprive Pakistan of an economic development opportunity and turn the corridor into a sign of Chinese failure to help its iron brother. Therefore, forces are trying to push and pressure Pakistan into default.

However, despite such instruments, the hegemonic moves will not be able to contain China due to certain facts.

First of all, China has an entirely different philosophy of international relations, economic links and security cooperation. The guiding principles and values of the Chinese philosophy are mutual respect and win-win cooperation. China practices a relation-based ideology for building international relations, which is the opposite of the Western ideology of interest-based relations. China also believes in and practices the sharing of prosperity for meaningful international engagement. Programs such as the Global Development Initiative are good examples on this front, providing space for China to rise in a peaceful way.

Second, China is deeply integrated in the global system. China is a major trading partner of more than 100 countries. China has also signed multiple free trade and economic partnership agreements with many countries and regions. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is the world's largest free trade agreement, and China and the European Union are negotiating a comprehensive agreement on investment. China is also emerging as a new technology powerhouse.

Third, China has the ability to ignore provocations and observe patience. The world has witnessed this ability in the past. For example, Beijing exercised much patience on outside provocation regarding Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Fourth, China has put forth global initiatives in the fields of economy, development, security and diplomacy. On the economic front, the BRI is contributing to global economic growth and development. Thanks to openness and inclusiveness in decision-making and implementation, the BRI has become the largest economic, trade, connectivity and investment program in history.

In addition, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was established to create a people-centered financial system and strive for a financial system that keeps the environment and the needs of the future at the center of decision-making and implementation. It has become the second-largest global bank, with 105 members, after the World Bank.

Furthermore, the annual China International Import Expo was launched in 2018 to show the world how China has opened its market to the world. The CIIE confirms that China believes in practical steps and not merely slogans. The expo has been designed in such a way that it will promote rules-based, win-win cooperation and will create opportunities for the world.

In terms of security, President Xi Jinping proposed a new vision of achieving holistic security while focusing on dialogue and development. He launched the Global Security Initiative for common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. The initiative will help the world to combat new security challenges and secure sustainable peace, and it offers an alternative to the model of security based on alliances, Cold War mentality and hegemonic aspirations.

The propaganda war against China will not be successful because China is deeply integrated in the global system. Any attempt to destabilize China is an attempt to destabilize the global system, which no country wants. Further pursuit of such a propaganda war will put its designers on the losing end.

The author is CEO of the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development, a think tank in Pakistan, and a visiting research fellow at Hebei University.