China supports the UN Security Council in fulfilling its responsibility for maintaining international peace and security and in taking all necessary actions to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, alleviate the humanitarian disaster, and implement the two-State solution, Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations said on Friday.
Protecting the safety of medical facilities in armed conflict is a bottom line under international humanitarian law, Fu said at the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, following last week's attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only remaining comprehensive medical service institution in northern Gaza.
The Israeli forces launched an attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital, forcibly detaining medical and care personnel, causing the deaths of a large number of people, and plunging the hospital into a sea of fire, according to Fu.
Without sufficient evidence proving that medical facilities have become hostile facilities, deliberately launching large-scale and indiscriminate attacks against medical institutions that cause casualties of innocent civilians violates international humanitarian law and could constitute war crimes, said the Chinese envoy.
China expresses its grave concerns over and strong opposition to this, he said, urging Israel to effectively abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, stop turning hospitals into battlefields, stop launching attacks on medical facilities, ensure the safety of medical institutions and personnel, and release all medical personnel detained.
"A certain country repeatedly claims that a ceasefire agreement will soon be reached, yet the reality is continued killing and death. I wish to stress that differences in negotiations should be bridged by political will but not be filled with innocent lives. Winning the war does not necessarily mean securing peace, and resorting only to military strength does not guarantee lasting security," Fu said.
China calls on Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian access to Gaza, stop implementing and revoke promptly the bills against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and guarantee safety and facilitation for UNRWA and other humanitarian agencies to carry out their assistance, he said.
Chinese envoy calls for all necessary actions to achieve ceasefire in Gaza
Chinese envoy calls for all necessary actions to achieve ceasefire in Gaza
The universal "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the United States signals a decline in the U.S. economic dominance and dollar hegemony, as the country is attempting to extract excessive financial benefits from its trading partners, according to economists, who warn the Trump administration is playing a "dangerous game".
U.S. President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" before unveiling higher rates on certain trading partners. The policy sent shockwaves throughout the global economy and triggered panic on financial markets, with analysts warning of significant risks and dire economic consequences.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Hong Hao, chief economist of the GROW Investment Group, a Shanghai-based hedge fund, said the tariffs reflect Trump's strategy to extract economic benefits from trading partners, particularly viewing China as a significant competitor. "Trump really believes that the trade terms with the trading partners have been unfair to the U.S., and as a result, the U.S. manufacturing sector has been hollowed out. Therefore, the U.S. is paying an excessive price for globalization, and now, it's time to pay back. I think, from this angle, he is trying to extract economic rent from its trading partners, and also he is trying to see China as one of the major U.S. rivals at this juncture. So, I think, as a result, he is playing a very dangerous game. And, as you can see, it's political theater in the sense that he is trying to dramatize the extreme pressure, so that he can get excessive rent from the opponent," he said
Trump's unilateral imposition of tariffs has eroded global confidence in the U.S. and its dollar's status, leading many to state that the American hegemony may not persist, according to Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University.
"The U.S. economy is at an inflection point. There is a moment where the previous strategies being used to sustain American hegemony were no longer working. And, it's only a matter of time before the U.S. position erodes, given the fact that it's been a house of cards built on the dollar supremacy. And a lot of people don't see that as having a brighter future. This has moved past the theater stage and has moved really directly into one in which no one really has confidence in the U.S. anymore. No one has confidence in the dollar. No one has confidence in the U.S. being committed to the multilateral system, to global trade and so forth and so on," he said.
Trump playing "dangerous game" as tariff measures signal decline in U.S. dollar hegemony: economists
