After Moscow trip: Former Chancellor Schröder surprises at forum in China

Xiong'an. Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) surprisingly took part in a forum on global governance in China shortly after his visit to Russia. At the side of China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Schröder walked into the ballroom with guests of honor at the opening ceremony in the socialist model city of Xiong'an and took a seat in the front row. Schröder's wife Soyeon Schröder-Kim sat one row behind her husband. The former Chancellor did not give a speech at the opening ceremony.

Schröder recently drew criticism from his party with a visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin. There were new calls in the SPD for a party expulsion process. According to the Kremlin, Schröder congratulated Putin on his 74th birthday in Moscow on October 7th.

Schröder was Chancellor from 1998 to 2005. The 82-year-old is close friends with Putin and has been criticized for years because of this close connection and his commitment to Russian energy companies. Since the beginning of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, Schröder has met with Putin repeatedly.

However, little is known about Schröder's trips to China. It was initially unclear who Schröder would meet. China's state and party leader Xi Jinping was not in Xiong'an and had his foreign minister send a greeting to the guests.

The Global Governance Forum follows on from the Global Governance Initiative that Xi announced a year earlier. China and Russia have long been calling for reform towards a multilateral world order. With its vaguely formulated goals, the initiative stands for an expansion of multilateralism and a fair global balance of power.

China wants to help shape a world order in which Beijing currently sees unfair dominance, especially by the USA. The initiative is seen by many as an improvement on the existing international system, Wang said. Once again he drew attention to unprecedented change in a century, as well as an increase in harassment and go-it-alone policies. Although Wang did not name a country, Beijing has made similar comments to Washington in the past.

In order to maintain their dominance and protect their own interests, "some countries" have long obstructed the reform process of the United Nations (UN) and its organizations, China's government said in a white paper on the initiative published in June. Developing countries are still underrepresented, it said.

China is thus presenting itself as the voice of the Global South. In the white paper, Beijing, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, calls for expanding the representation of developing countries in the body. China is also demanding an adjustment to the International Monetary Fund's quotas, which decide on credit lines, voting rights and financing contributions.