Claims the post-World War II West-led order is ‘unravelling due to double standards’
Senator Mushahid Hussain delivering a keynote address at the World Peace Forum (WPF) organised by Tsinghua University in Beijing, China on July 20, 2026. Photo: Express
Ex-senator Mushahid Hussain on Monday asserted that the time was ripe for a new global order to emerge from the Global South since the post-World War II order was unravelling due to double standards.
Delivering the keynote address at the World Peace Forum (WPF) organised by Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, he explained that the Western-rules-based order was unravelling due to double standards as it “neither promoted order nor was based on any rules”.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng delivered the inaugural speech at the forum, followed by Hussain’s keynote address before an audience of about 100 international guests from 30 countries.
Speakers at the forum, including the former foreign ministers of Indonesia and Serbia as well as Chinese officials, praised Pakistan’s proactive diplomacy, describing it as a “source of strength for peace, security and stability in the greater Middle East region and South Asia”.
Referring to the 75th anniversary of Pakistan-China diplomatic relations, Hussain described the relationship as a “unique partnership” between the two neighbours that culminated in “Iron Brotherhood”.
He highlighted that the multi-faceted and broad-spectrum diplomatic ties enjoyed by the two countries had “no parallel in recent international relations.”
Citing the Strategic Work Plan 2026-2030 for Pakistan-China relations, Hussain said it provided a blueprint for broadening, expanding, and strengthening bilateral ties.
He also lauded the wisdom of the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilisation.
He said it rose peacefully, without aggression, invasion, occupation, or colonisation, and now stood on par with the United States as a “preeminent” global power.
Recalling US President Donald Trump’s May visit to China, Hussain said, POTUS called the US-China relationship “G2”.
He said it was “a tribute to China’s deft diplomacy” and the country had “won two wars within a year without firing a single shot”, referring to the Indo-Pakistan conflict and the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Alluding to last year’s war between Pakistan and India, Hussain said Chinese technology had triumphed over Western technology in South Asia.
He further appreciated the role of China in regional politics and called it a “principled power that enjoys confidence of all parties amidst the fallout of the Gulf conflict”.
Comparing the outcome of regional alliances, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Hussain said the latter alliance failed due to “Indian bullying of smaller SAARC neighbours” while the former sustained its reputation owing to the “respectful attitude of equality and reciprocity” maintained by Indonesia despite being a larger country.
Former Indian national security adviser and high commissioner to Pakistan Shivshankar Menon was also present in the audience during the address.
Hussain concluded his speech at the forum by quoting Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong’s speech he witnessed during his first visit to China as a college student in the early 1970s, “Nothing is hard in this world, if you dare to scale the heights”.
Separately, Hussain also chaired a dialogue, on the invitation of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), among participants from Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Cambodia and China at a special conference on “Xi Jinping Thought and poverty alleviation” held in Ningxia, western China.
He praised China’s poverty alleviation programme, saying the country had lifted 800 million people out of poverty in four decades.
He underscored that the country had eliminated “absolute poverty”.
The conference in Ningxia was attended by 150 politicians, opinion leaders, media representatives and think tank participants from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and North America.
During the visit, Hussain also met senior Chinese leaders, including Vice President Han Zheng and IDCPC Minister Liu Haixing.
Reference Link:- https://tribune.com.pk/story/2619308/global-south-should-lead-emerging-world-order-mushahid-hussain-says-at-world-peace-forum