A second permanent UN Security Council member has refused to join the Board of Peace announced by US President Donald Trump.
After France, China has said that it remains firmly committed to the global system which has the United Nations at the core.
Yu Jing, a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, announced this in a post on X. Yu, who attributed the announcement to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), said Beijing remains a practitioner of true multilateralism, and a follower of the principles of the UN Charter.
“Spokesperson of MOFA: China has received the United States’ invitation to join the Board of Peace. China always practices true multilateralism. No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China will stay firmly committed to safeguarding the international system with the UN at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” Yu wrote.
Israel’s Netanyahu says yes to Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace, which many fear could ‘replace’ UN
What is the Gaza Board of Peace?
China’s rejection of the invitation has come in response to efforts by US President Donald Trump to set up the Gaza Board of Peace. The leader of the United States is due to officially launch the initiative this week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Trump had described the board as the most prestigious ever, while mocking the United Nations in the same breath, stating the peace board would get more work done than the UN.
“We want everybody. We want all nations. We want all nations where people have control, people have power, that we’re never going to have a problem. This is the greatest board ever assembled. And everybody wants to be on it,” Trump told reporters.
“But yeah, I have some controversial people on it, but these are people that get the job done. These are people that have tremendous influence. All babies on the board. So he (Putin) was invited. He’s accepted. Many people have accepted… think, I don’t know of anybody that hasn’t accepted. But it’s going to be great,” he added.
Trump said that the board will work with the United Nations, but added that the Board of Peace will be special.
“We’re going to have peace. It started off with Gaza, the Middle East. We’ve got peace in the Middle East. Tremendous peace in the Middle East. Nobody thought that was possible. And that happened by taking out the Iran nuclear threat. Without that, it could have never happened. But the board is going to be, I think, really fantastic. And I think it will be the most prestigious board of any board ever.”
The US has dubbed it the Gaza Board of Peace, under the Phase 2 of the 20-Point Peace Plan to end the conflict in West Asia. The aim of the board, as envisaged, is to promote stability and oversee post-conflict reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.
Trump had mooted the Board of Peace last September as part of the plan to end the war in Gaza, but it has now taken a broader shape with a reported mandate to mediate global conflicts.
The countries which receive invitation to join and commit USD 1 billion would get a permanent seat on the board. However, those that choose not to pay will have a three-year term post receiving invitation.
According to the US, around 25 countries including Israel, Kosovo, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Armenia, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar and Jordan have accepted the invitation to join the board.
Russia too has responded to the Peace Board invite, offering USD 1 billion from Russian assets frozen in the US.
France, which refused, has expressed fears that the Board of Peace will eventually seek to replace the United Nations. Trump too has indicated his plans to this effect.
India also has received the invitation but it has yet to officially issue a response.