Middle powers would be better off hedging their bets rather than picking sides between countries such as the United States or China, a forum in Beijing heard on Friday.
This view echoed the comments made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at Davos earlier this year when he said such countries should unite in the face of a “rupture in the world order”.
Speakers at Tsinghua University’s World Peace Forum agreed that these nations should band together to seek more diversified partnerships.
“So during the period of bipolarisation, with China and the US now engaged in some kind of strategic competition, probably it is wise for middle powers not to take sides,” Jia Qingguo, a professor of international studies at Peking University, said during a panel discussion.
He added that doing so “would limit their diplomatic space and limit their capability to preserve their interests”, adding that “hedging” was a better option.
Jonathan Fried, chairman of the Canadian National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation, echoed this, saying: “Hedging means developing an insurance policy.”
Fried pointed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a prime example of this strategy in action, noting that these countries were deeply invested in preserving good relations with both Beijing and Washington, viewing one as their top customer and the other as their premier investor.