Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

“A new direction for Sweden – join the Belt and Road and leave NATO”

The new multipolar world order

China's Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to eradicate poverty through infrastructure development, is more in line with the interests of the Swedish people than NATO's war policy. It is time for Sweden and the West to wake up and join the BRI in a spirit of cooperation and friendship, writes Stephen Brawer, chairman of BRIX Sweden.

Published 18 April 2024
Stephen Brawer speaks at the Forum on Global Human Rights Governance conference in Beijing last year.
7 minute read
This is an opinion piece. The author is responsible for the views expressed in the article.

A new international order is emerging. The world is moving from a unipolar world order to a multipolar order in which the self-determination and sovereign interests of individual countries must be respected. This is a very positive direction for world history, because it means that the old colonial system, which has unfortunately dominated the world until today, is coming to an end. No matter how the world develops in the future, there will be no place for, and no way to return to, the old-style colonial unipolar world order.

China has played a decisive role in this, thanks to the economic development that has taken place in the country over the past 40 years. It is China and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) global development platform that has played a crucial role in realizing the new world order. At the time of writing, more than 150 countries, representing 75 percent of the world’s population and 50 percent of its economic capacity, have joined the collaboration.

The old colonial system, which has unfortunately dominated the world until today, is coming to an end.

So it is time for the West to wake up and join China’s BRI in a spirit of cooperation and friendship. But this may be easier said than done. There are forces that still defend the old unipolar world order, i.e. Anglo-American imperialist policies. They seem to prefer to risk serious conflicts and, in the worst case, a global war. If we want to avoid this, some adjustments have to be made in the way decision-makers in Western Europe, the US and the UK think and act. Joining NATO is a completely wrong decision by Sweden’s decision-makers.

When President Xi Jinping launched the BRI in 2013, it was clear that he had plans for China’s modernization and long-term economic development. Today, the country’s large population and labor force are engaged in a variety of large-scale infrastructure projects, water projects, road construction and the world’s largest manufacturing industry. China has lifted 800 million people out of extreme poverty. The transformation that China is undergoing is a unique feature of world history, unlike any other nation in history. And it will continue.

But the focus is not only internal. China is launching the BRI as a platform for infrastructure development to eradicate world poverty. But Western European politicians refuse to recognize China and the BRI as a positive basis for international cooperation. They continue to talk about trade barriers and “de-risking,” suggesting that they are unwilling to contribute to these global changes. I believe this can change, and I will work to make it happen. But whether it succeeds or not, China’s development will continue – I see no sign whatsoever that it will stop or slow down in any significant way.

The BRI means a world connected by infrastructure.

China is a brilliant model of international modernization and development for other countries in the world. It is not that other countries need to follow exactly the same recipe as China. China has its own history and civilization to build on, which is a great culture and civilization. But both in the past and in the present, it has made unique changes in development and modernization, not only in practical terms of the economy, water projects, energy and transportation, but China is now clearly becoming a leader in the research and development of fusion technology, which is the form of nuclear power that will provide virtually unlimited energy resources, and is playing a major leading role in new frontier areas such as the development of space technology.

One consequence of these advances is that the need to educate and raise the knowledge and thinking of Chinese citizens to new levels will only increase. I believe this is what makes the Chinese people happy, and I believe this kind of optimistic forward thinking can lift any nation. The idea of recognizing the pursuit of the common good as a guiding principle for the country was once fundamental to my own country, the United States. This idea was best expressed by President Lincoln as follows: Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Unfortunately, this has not been the focus of current US policymakers since the end of World War II. But I believe we can restore this principle in the United States. When we do, the principle of representing the common good – a community for a common future for humanity – will reemerge. This is the central idea of the Belt and Road Initiative and the forward movement in China.

The idea of recognizing the pursuit of the common good as a guiding principle for the country was once fundamental to my own country, the United States.

In 2023, the BRI celebrated its 10th anniversary. The project has already had a profound impact in Africa. It is in many countries in South America. We have the connection from Kunming to Vientiane in Laos. We have the agreements between China and Indonesia, which has one of the largest populations in the world, to cooperate with the BRI. So in this relatively short period of ten years, we have seen changes in the world based on the idea of infrastructure development as a basis for poverty eradication. And there is no other way to do it.

The general failure of Western policymakers in the modern era, since World War II, but also since the 1970s and ’80s until now, under the IMF and the World Bank, has meant that development in the world has not moved forward. In fact, it has generally been prevented. So we are already seeing that the rest of the world, whether the leaders in the West like it or not, are joining the Belt and Road Initiative and cooperating with the vast majority because it will lift their nations and the world in general out of poverty.

Sweden, in my opinion, would benefit enormously from this cooperation, much more than they are currently doing by insisting on military escalation and joining NATO, which will neither help the Swedish people nor contribute to peace and development in the rest of the world. So the Belt and Road Initiative is the direction humanity needs to work in, and it is time for Western European countries to wake up and realize this.

The criticism of the BRI as a debt trap, with accusations and descriptions of debt-ridden countries cooperating with China, is mainly aimed at Western people. This kind of rumor-mongering is a propaganda tool aimed at undermining China for geopolitical reasons. Western policymakers want to defend the current unipolar order, so they want to demonize China in this way.

The Belt and Road Institute in Sweden and my colleague Hussein Askary have researched this extensively and shown that these accusations have no substance whatsoever – they are a sham. This research is documented and available on our website.

Western policymakers want to defend the current unipolar order, so they want to demonize China in this way.

In addition to the BRI, China has launched three other initiatives. The GSI – Global Security Initiative, which was submitted to the UN to promote world stability; the GDI – Global Development Initiative, to further strengthen the development direction set by the BRI; and the GCI – Global Civilization Initiative, to promote cultural exchanges. The need for stability and development is evident in the dangerous conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza; unfortunately, there is too little interest in ending the devastating consequences for the populations of these areas.

The GCI – the Global Civilization Initiative – the latest of the initiatives, I think is particularly important, and my colleague and I are now highlighting this in a series of interviews. We are talking about one of the great universal thinkers in European history, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who lived from 1646 to 1716, during the time of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty in China. During this time, there was an exchange between Europe and certain Jesuit missionaries who worked to share knowledge in astronomy, mathematics, and geography. Many of these missionaries adopted the ideas of Matteo Ricci. Matteo Ricci is known in China as one of the most respected Western thinkers because, in addition to being a missionary, he was fluent in written and spoken Chinese. He was admired by the leading Confucian intellectual circles in China at the time.

It is this kind of exchange that allows us to understand the deeper aspects of civilizations, both in China and in the West. It is, in my view, an important basis for overcoming political negativity, sometimes acrimonious exchanges, and arrogance by taking the thought processes back to a time and place where there was a real idea of what we have in common. We respect that there are differences, but we also see the common qualities, the respect for the common good and the goodness of human reason, which can be the bridge that reunites Europe and China in the way that Leibniz sought in his time.

I want to emphasize that these ideas are not academic, although there are many important ideas that scholars have put together that I can support and refer to. I bring this up because it is about creating a living dynamic of how we can overcome the demonization and hostility between East and West. These kinds of attitudes tend to break down communication – so we need to do the opposite.

It is about creating a living dynamic of how we can overcome the demonization and hostility between East and West.

Chinese civilization is on the verge of a historical rebirth. Those who have studied its history at all know that it is a very long and profound cultural history. China will draw on its entire history to move forward, as it has already done, and in addition to leading the unstoppable global economic development, it will pioneer space technology and new energy sources such as fusion power, which it is only a matter of time before they are commercialized.

With a greater awareness of its deep cultural history, people would not feel threatened by China – rather they would see this great civilization as a great asset.

 

Stephen Brawer,

Chairman of BRIX Sweden – The Belt and Road Institute in Sweden

BRIX Sweden - the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden, is a non-profit association founded by the organizers, speakers and participants of a seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its economic and strategic importance for Europe and Sweden, which took place in Stockholm on 30 May 2018. The seminar was jointly organized by the Schiller Institute and the China-Sweden Business Council.

BRIX members include entrepreneurs, economists and strategic experts with a wide range of expertise in Swedish and Chinese economic issues. Their common conclusion is that the BRI is not only important for good economic and political relations between China and Sweden, but also fundamentally favorable for economic development and peace among all countries.

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Merz acknowledges: The West’s attractiveness is waning

The new multipolar world order

Published 6 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
German politician Friedrich Merz advocates for welfare cuts while simultaneously wanting to increase both Ukraine aid and military spending.
2 minute read

Liberal democracy is under attack from new “autocratic alliances”, claimed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this week. In the same breath, he acknowledged that the West’s attractiveness is “noticeably diminishing” and that the world no longer looks up to Western values in the same way as before.

Former BlackRock executive Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron painted a dark picture of the West’s crisis on Friday. Both leaders claim that liberal democracy is under attack from various directions, and according to Merz, it is an “axis of autocratic states” that now challenges the liberal world order.

— The centers of power in the world are shifting to an extent not seen since the end of the Cold War. An axis of autocratic states that challenges the liberal order around the world is directly challenging Western democracies, he claimed.

However, why this axis has formed was not explained in detail. In the same speech, he was forced to acknowledge that the West’s attractiveness is declining:

— The radiance of what we in the West call liberal democracy is noticeably diminishing. It is no longer a given that the world will orient itself towards us, that it will follow our values of liberal democracy.

Merz has also recently stated that Germany can no longer afford to finance the welfare state while advocating for investments in military rearmament and continued support for Ukraine.

Macron finds convenient scapegoat

Macron spoke of a “degeneration of democracy” in Europe and found a convenient scapegoat in social media platforms.

— We’ve been guilty of handing over our public democratic space to social networks owned by big American entrepreneurs and Chinese firms, he said.

However, the possibility that the West’s own policies contributed to this development was not addressed at all by Merz or Macron.

— Democratic debate is turning into a debate of hatred, continued the French president.

Merz, Macron, Polish Prime Minister Tusk and British Prime Minister Starmer. Photo: Number 10/CC BY 2.0

Putin sees multipolar world

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented a completely different analysis on Thursday. At the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, he described the development as natural.

— Multipolarity has become a direct consequence of attempts to establish and preserve global hegemony, a response to the obsessive desire to arrange everyone into a single hierarchy, with Western countries at the top, Putin said.

Putin also claimed that democracy is in decline in the West. As an example, he mentioned Romania, where the court invalidated the presidential election last year.

Merz also acknowledged that Europe has become “economically weaker” and that the social promises made are “so much harder to fulfill today than they used to be”.

The solution? Europe must “refocus on its economic competitiveness” and “oppose a new wave of protectionism in the world”. This is essentially the same mantra European leaders have repeated for decades – so far with limited success.

Putin: West’s pursuit of world hegemony created multipolar order

The new multipolar world order

Published 3 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to Russia's president, Ukraine lost nearly 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers last month.
5 minute read

The multipolar world order is already a reality and “no one is ready to play by rules set some place overseas”, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared during the annual Valdai Forum.

He urged European politicians to stop their “anti-Russian hysteria”, claimed that 44,700 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded in September, and called US President Donald Trump a “comfortable conversation partner”.

The world is currently undergoing extensive transformation and the already established multipolar world order is a direct consequence of Western powers’ attempts to establish global hegemony, Putin argued during a speech at the Valdai Forum on Thursday.

The Russian president also outlined the Russian armed forces’ alleged successes in Ukraine and Kiev’s losses, and urged European leaders to address their own countries’ problems instead of engaging in what he described as “anti-Russian hysteria”.

Putin also expressed positive views about the new American administration’s pragmatic approach to international issues.

Nothing is predetermined

The current global situation, characterized by rapid and often dramatic changes, requires readiness for all developments. Individual responsibility is particularly important and “the stakes in the current situation are extremely high”, Putin said.

A multipolar world has already taken shape, according to the Russian president. “Virtually nothing is predetermined. Everything could unfold in different ways. Much depends on the precision, deliberateness, restraint, and thoughtfulness of each international actor’s actions”, he said.

Putin emphasized that in a multipolar world, all countries must seek common ground for their interests. “No one is ready to play by rules set some place overseas”, he stated.

— The relationships within the global majority, the prototype of political practices necessary and effective in a polycentric world, are based on pragmatism and realism, a rejection of bloc philosophy, and the absence of rigid, unilaterally imposed obligations or models with senior and junior partners, Putin explained.

He called the “bloc mentality” that certain countries have in order to trigger confrontation meaningless and anachronistic. New international organizations like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are developing today in “the spirit of 21st-century diplomacy”, Putin said. “They are not against anyone; they are for themselves”.

Sharp criticism of Europe

Putin stated that the power of the US and its allies reached its peak at the end of the 20th century, but that there is not, and never will be, a force that can govern the world and dictate to everyone “how to breathe”.

— Attempts were made, but they all ended in failure, he said.

The Russian president directed sharp criticism at European politicians who he believes are trying to “patch up holes in the European edifice” by incorrectly creating an image of Russia as an enemy.

— The ruling elites of united Europe continue to whip up hysteria. It turns out that war with the Russians is almost on their doorstep. They repeat this nonsense, this mantra, over and over again, Putin said.

— Frankly, I feel like telling them, calm down, get some rest, and finally, deal with your own issues, he continued.

Russia’s leader also warned that Moscow is closely following the escalating militarization of Europe, and that Russia’s countermeasures “will not be long in coming”. He noted that there are those who hope to deliver a “strategic defeat” to Russia, but argued that even the “most obtuse hardheads” will soon realize that this is impossible.

The situation in Ukraine

Putin placed responsibility for the failed efforts to stop hostilities on “the minority, not the majority”.

— This primarily refers to Europe, which constantly escalates the conflict; there can be seen no other goal that they pursue today, he said.

The Russian president accused the West and their “servants in Kiev” of treating the Ukrainian people as expendable, a “destructive tool in others’ hands”. Putin also stated that Russian armed forces are steadily creating a buffer zone along the entire front line.

— this work is proceeding smoothly, calmly, and according to plan… As of today, the Russian army is the most combat-ready army, Putin claimed, asserting that while Russian armed forces have indeed suffered losses, these are much smaller than those of the Ukrainian military.

Russian troops have, according to him, captured two-thirds of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region and taken Kirovsk in Donetsk under their full control. The settlement of Yunakovka in the Sumy region is under Russian army control and Volchansk in the Kharkiv region is half-controlled.

Russian troops have entered Seversk, Konstantinovka and Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People’s Republic, and need only to liberate 0.13 percent of the territory in the Luhansk People’s Republic.

He claimed there is “confusion in the ranks of the Ukrainian military” and that they do not understand what is happening on the front line. The Ukrainian army lost around 44,700 soldiers at the engagement line in September, where irreversible losses accounted for half of this figure, according to Putin. From January to August, a total of 150,000 Ukrainian military personnel deserted, he claimed.

Pragmatic view of the US

Putin stated that Russia and the US have different views on many “global problems,” but that “for major powers, this is actually normal”. Solutions to contradictions that would satisfy both sides are entirely possible to find, he argued.

— Whatever the disagreements, if we treat each other with respect, then bargaining, even the toughest and most persistent, will still aim to reach a consensus, and this means that mutually acceptable solutions are possible.

He appreciated that the current American authorities, unlike their predecessors, express their ambitions clearly and distinctly.

— It’s always better to clearly understand what other persons are up to and what they’re trying to achieve than to try to discern the real meaning in a series of understatements, ambiguities, and vague hints.

— We see that the current US administration is guided primarily by the interests of its own country, he continued.

During a visit to Alaska, the restoration of bilateral relations was discussed, since according to Putin they are “not just at an impasse, but at the lowest level in all of recent memory”. Putin further described American President Donald Trump as a comfortable conversation partner who “knows how to listen and hear.”

Furthermore, Russia is ready to support President Trump’s proposal to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip if it leads to the creation of two separate states, since this step is key to a “final resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”, Putin said.

China continues major investment in the new Silk Road

The new multipolar world order

Published 17 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
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3 minute read

The new Silk Road, also known as Belt and Road, is not just an infrastructure project but also one of the foremost international meeting places outside the Western bloc that currently involves over 150 countries.

This year’s media forum in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province in southwestern China, is the ninth in the series and is attended by media organizations from 87 different countries, including The Nordic Times.

The name of the BRI initiative or less formally “the new Silk Road”, alludes to the famous trade route that for one and a half millennia linked China, Europe and Africa until the 1400s when the Ottoman Empire completely blocked the trade routes.

BRI is an official Chinese economic and diplomatic initiative originally formulated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with a stated foundation in so-called multilateralism, in simpler terms based on dialogue and voluntary exchanges between independent actors. In a broader sense, BRI’s purpose is described as promoting intercultural communication and exchange between nations and civilizations “to contribute to mutual benefits and understanding” and through this method improve conditions for peaceful development and long-term global stability.

A series of major infrastructural projects have emerged from the initiative, with the long-term ambition to create modern transport and trade routes between Europe, Africa, Asia and America. Among the most well-known infrastructure projects already completed are the railway from China to Laos, as well as on Indonesia’s main island of Java and the ports of Hambantota International in Sri Lanka and Gwadar in Pakistan. Hungary and Serbia have been first in Europe to embrace the initiative on both infrastructural and political levels, where a high-speed railway is currently being built between the countries’ capitals Budapest and Belgrade in cooperation with Chinese engineers. The port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece has also become part of the initiative and is currently one of Europe’s largest ports.

Sweden is among the countries, primarily from the US-dominated Western bloc, that have currently chosen not to join the initiative and primarily describe the project as a Chinese “scam” to put countries in debt. Among Western European countries, the only infrastructural participant is currently Luxembourg, which with its large airport has significant air traffic to China.

The new Silk Road encompasses not only infrastructure but also other forums that constitute the currently most significant official international meeting places in China. This year’s forum with a media theme is being held right now in Kunming in southern China between September 16 and 17 with a total of 165 media channels from 87 different countries present, with many leading media outlets primarily from South America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, from Russia this year including news agencies Ria and Tass.

The Nordic Times is so far one of the few media houses from the increasingly isolated Western bloc that is present, in company with among others Discovery Channel and Warner Bros. From Western Europe, there are otherwise a number of smaller media houses present from countries including Denmark, France, Ireland and Germany.

Alongside the media organizations, representatives of a number of state-owned corporate giants involved in the various projects also participated, such as Energy China, China National Nuclear Corporation, China Changan Automobile Group and China Communication Construction Company.

The Nordic Times was also present at last year’s conference in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

Analyst: Ukraine war and sanctions have welded together Asia’s great powers

The new multipolar world order

Published 2 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is received in China as the old rivals move closer to each other.
3 minute read

Sky News economic analyst and editor Ed Conway warns that the Western world is drastically underestimating how significant the Eurasian alliance Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is becoming.

According to Conway, the Ukraine war and Western sanctions against Russia have accelerated a historic power shift where China, Russia and India are now forming an increasingly strong counterweight to the G7 countries.

While G7 countries’ exports to Russia have collapsed to almost zero, China’s exports have instead increased dramatically. India has gone from barely importing Russian oil to relying on the country for the majority of its crude oil imports. British analyst Ed Conway argues that the consequences of the Ukraine war extend far beyond Europe’s borders.

“The vast majority of policymakers in Westminster, let alone elsewhere around the UK, have never heard of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation”, Conway writes in his analysis from the summit in Tianjin, China this week.

He believes this grouping of ten Eurasian states – led by China, Russia and India – deserves significantly more attention in Europe.

The analyst identifies February 2022 as a watershed moment. Before the war, G7 countries exported roughly as much to Russia as China did, and Europe was then the largest importer of Russian oil. Today, the figures show a completely different reality. While Western sanctions have decimated G7 trade with Russia, China’s exports have instead exploded.

“Exports of Chinese transportation equipment are up nearly 500%”, Conway notes.

A future without the US?

In parallel, India has undergone a dramatic change in its energy purchases. The country has gone from importing “next to no Russian oil to relying on the country for the majority of its crude imports”.

This development has led the US to consider drastic measures. Conway points to how Washington has threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” against India, which would double the tariff level on Indian goods to 50 percent – “one of the highest levels in the world”.

“The upshot of Ukraine, in other words, isn’t just misery and war in Europe. It’s a sharp divergence in economic strategies around the world”, he states.

The analyst identifies a deeper structural change taking place. Asian nations have begun to “envisage something they had never quite imagined before: an economic future that doesn’t depend on the American financial infrastructure”.

Putin, Modi and Xi Jinping during the SCO summit this week. Photo: Kremlin/CC BY 4.0

“Once sworn rivals”

Conway explains that Asian countries have traditionally been the largest buyers of US government bonds, partly to secure dollars for oil purchases. But since the war in Ukraine escalated, Russia has begun selling oil without pricing it in dollars, while many Asian nations have reduced their purchases of US government bonds.

“Part of the explanation for the recent rise in US and UK government bond yields is that there is simply less demand for them from foreign investors than there used to be”, he notes.

A particularly concerning trend for Western leaders is the growing economic weight of SCO countries, and Conway points out that when adjusted for purchasing power, these nations’ share of global GDP is now approaching the combined share of advanced economies.

But perhaps the most surprising development is the rapprochement between China and India, which for long periods have had a very strained, and at times almost openly hostile relationship.

“Something that would have seemed completely implausible only a few years ago”, Conway writes, is that these “once sworn rivals” are now approaching economic reconciliation.

As India now faces harsh US tariffs, the country hardly sees any risk in approaching China through this rare journey to strengthen relations with Beijing, according to the analyst.

“A seismic moment”

Conway calls the development “a seismic moment in geopolitics” and concludes his analysis with a warning:

“For a long time, the world’s two most populous nations were at loggerheads. Now they are increasingly moving in lockstep with each other. That is a consequence few would have guessed at when Russia invaded Ukraine. Yet it could be of enormous importance for geopolitics in future decades”, he states.

The economic analyst’s conclusion is clear: the Ukraine war and sanctions against Russia have had an unexpected effect. Instead of isolating Russia, it has welded together Asia’s superpowers and accelerated the West’s economic decline.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

The SCO was founded in 2001 and has ten member countries: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. The organization started as a security policy cooperation but now also encompasses economic and political issues.

The member countries represent over 40 percent of the world's population and when adjusted for purchasing power, SCO countries account for nearly half of global GDP. The organization's secretariat is located in Beijing and the chairmanship rotates between member countries.

G7 (Group of Seven)

The G7 consists of the USA, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada. The group was formed in the 1970s as a forum for economic coordination between industrialized liberal democracies. The G7 countries account for approximately 30 percent of global GDP and have long played a central role in the international financial system.

The EU participates in G7 meetings as an observer. Since 2022, the G7 has coordinated economic sanctions against Russia following the war in Ukraine.

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