According to a new report obtained by foreign media, China is the world's largest diplomatic power, surpassing the United States in global influence.
Despite the slim lead, the report highlights the results of China's efforts to expand its influence against the backdrop of heightened geopolitical competition with Washington.
The Lowy Institute's 2024 Global Diplomacy Index, ranked by 66 countries and territories based on the number of diplomatic agencies they have around the world, will be released Sunday morning. China topped the list with 274 diplomatic missions, followed by the United States with 271.
Ryan Neelam, director of the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program at the Lowy Institute, said in a statement:"Diplomacy is often overlooked as a measure of influence, but it has never been more important as a national policy. The Global Diplomacy Index shows that countries** continue to invest in diplomacy to project power and achieve their own interests"。
The ongoing rivalry between the United States and China is reflected in the superpower's dominance in the 2024 rankings"He said"At the same time, geopolitical competition has pushed Asia and the Pacific into focus. "
The results show that Beijing leads in Africa, East Asia, the Pacific islands, and Central Asia, while Washington still has an advantage in Europe, North America, Central America, and South Asia. In the Middle East and South America, the two sides are tied.
As Newsweek previously reported, a key component of China's foreign policy is an intricacies"Strategic partnerships"hierarchical network, which has grown over the years.
China's resumption of relations between Middle Eastern rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia last March marked a landmark victory for Beijing. Even when the region later fell into crisis due to the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Riyadh and Tehran remained in contact.
In 2023, China's attempts to promote Russia-Ukraine diplomacy also gained a lot of attention, although the two sides are still in conflict.
America's partners and allies in Europe and the Middle East are simultaneously participating in the war, and Beijing and Washington are calling on each other to participate. While the U.S.-China rivalry has intensified over the past decade, there has been a cautious thaw in U.S.-China relations since a four-hour summit in San Francisco last November.
A reading from the United States said that last week, a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference was discussed"A range of bilateral, regional, and global issues as part of an ongoing effort to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition in the relationship between the two countries"。
Despite this, the Taiwan issue remains a serious dispute between the two great powers. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and vows to retake it diplomatically or by force, while Washington offers increasing political and military support for Taipei's autonomy**.
The report states"China quickly rose to the top"In 2011, it trailed the U.S. by 23 institutions, and in 2019, it surpassed the U.S. by 3 for the first time. In the last ranking in 2011, the gap widened to eight, but it has narrowed again in the past year, as the number of jobs in Beijing has decreased by one, while the number of jobs in Washington has increased by four.
The authors of the report note that:"Since China took the lead, the two countries have largely leveled off"and expect these two countries to remain relatively stable at the top of the rankings with slight fluctuations.
The report states"This is perhaps to be expected. Once the diplomatic network reaches a critical point, new options for opening up will go to second- and third-tier cities, or countries that are seen as more marginal and have a greater operational environment risk. "