An article in the American Foreign Affairs ( Feb 15) magazine provided the context to how the US war on terror post 9/11 had “normalized the idea that everything is permissible in the pursuit of “terrorists”.

“To prosecute its war in Gaza, Israel borrows ethos, strategy, and tactics from that framework, doing so with the support of the United States.” That support, worth $3.3 billion annually, and the additional billions since October 7 constitute complicity in the genocide of over 29,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

This exceptionalism in favor of an aggressor and occupier (Israel) not only contravenes the ideals set out in the UN-led world order post-1945 but also exposes the duplicity of geopolitics. It has seen the pumping of hundreds of billions of dollars into various wars (Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Ukraine) in the name of countering terrorism and promoting democracy.

The third consecutive veto that the United States used against the Security Council Resolution on the Gaza ceasefire on Feb 20  also reflected the same exceptionalism in favor of Israel and marked another blow to the global rule of law and human rights regime the West at large has long championed.

This situation begs a big question in the current turbulence; should the rest of the world look on as geo-politically driven exceptionalism wreaks havoc across the globe, or embrace the concept of a “shared community of humankind “ based on equality, inclusion, and collaboration as proposed by President Xi Jinping of China?

President Xi proposed the concept in his address to the Central Conference on Foreign Affairs in Beijing  (December 27-28), while spelling out the challenges for Chinese foreign diplomacy in a world beset with turbulence.

President Xi’s proposal also appears to be driven by frustration over the failure of the current UN-based world order to protect the fundamental rights of smaller and oppressed nations such as the Palestinians.

Continued, unqualified US support for Ukraine and Israel only ensures more conflict and greater human losses with the active support of the country that speaks the loudest on morality and human rights.

All this happens in the name of “responsibility for shared security” – as late President Reagan once said when defending aid to Israel.

Every US President, including the incumbent Joe Biden, has upheld this “pledge to protect Israel” at the cost of justice and humanitarianism in the world – defying the ideals behind the birth of the United Nations.

Interestingly, a June 2023 US Congressional Research Service  (CRS) report lists at least 71  instances wherein the US  used or deployed military force in different parts of the world. It also includes instances of invasion of other countries in the name of self-defense (Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa).

In his address to the Central Conference on Foreign Affairs in Beijing  (December 27-28) Xi reviewed the global political environment and spelled out the challenges for Chinese foreign diplomacy in a world beset with conflicts.

He called for an ”equal and orderly multipolar world in which all countries, regardless of size, are treated as equals, hegemonism and power politics are rejected, and democracy is truly promoted in international relations.”

As the leader of an ascendant global economic power, which now also feels responsible for steering the world away from the consequences of Cold War geopolitics, the Chinese president proposes “the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, i.e., a perusal of goals of common development, lasting peace and security.”

Xi also recalled how his country had risen as a confident, self-reliant, open, and inclusive major country with a global vision. The launch of, or agreements for, economic cooperation and financial assistance for infrastructure projects in dozens of Asian and African countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIDB),

The bank is headquartered in Beijing and has about 110 countries as members. The primary objective of this bank is to address the financial needs of deserving developing countries.

BRI and the  Asian Infrastructure Development Bank are pronounced examples of how China under Xi Jinping has reached out not only to its neighborhood but also to the countries beyond for inclusive economic collaboration and joint security architecture.

The Chinese leadership considers this as the foundation for a shared community based on win-win economic cooperation and trade connectivity, and not through coercion and selective dole-outs to preferred countries.

This also stems from the belief that critical problems involving more than one country – big or small – need a holistic approach by big countries such as China and the US to push for peaceful coexistence, overall stability, and balanced economic and trade development

How do we solve the questions of what kind of world to build based on the understanding of the laws governing the development of mankind? This goal Xi has set for himself seems to be the core tenet of his thoughts.

Theoretically, and going by what the founding fathers of the United Nations had agreed on, it is imperative to uphold fundamental principles, reject all acts of power politics, stop bullying, and vigorously defend national interests. Given the fractures and turbulence in various parts of the world, is that possible?

Now that those ideals are reeling under geopolitics, the world is also witnessing unprecedented erosion of the rule of law, can the global community embrace President Xi’s ideals for a peaceful and cooperative world based on mutual respect, justice and inclusion rather than stoking fires of conflicts out of sheer self or bloc interests?

These ideas did not pop up in a vacuum. When Covid was ravaging the world, President Xi also proposed a Global Development Initiative at the Sept 2021 UN General Assembly. Xi followed this up with his Global Security Initiative at the Boa Forum in April 2022.

In March 2021 President Xi introduced his Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) to counter increasing Polarization, rising intolerance across the world, structural racism, abuse of power, and the rise of right-wing forces in political spectrums across the world.

The primary driver of all these initiatives is to create a world order where all can jointly eliminate the root causes of international conflicts, improve global security governance, and bring more stability and justice to all nations.

Why not, as President Xi proposes, pursue peace and development through mutual respect,  non-interference, win-win and inclusive cooperation for creating a shared community of humankind?