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Totally absent from the French media, eclipsed by the news of a metropolis in turmoil in the face of the beatings of a power against its people, relegated behind propaganda on a scale hitherto unprecedented aimed at maintaining the illusion of a coming victory for Ukraine and NATO, the Chinese-led diplomatic revolution in the Middle East marks the dawn of a new era that will likely see Washington's harmful influence pushed back out of a region and far from the peoples whose martyrdom inflicted by the colonial West for three-quarters of a century has lasted long enough.

If this term refers to the Pax Romana and the Pax Americana, all resemblance ends there, these last two terms implying contexts radically different from the Chinese situation: empires extended well beyond their direct borders and the imposition of peace through the soldiery. In Chinese history, the Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties are empires that are broadly confined within the current borders of Chinese territory. They represent historical eras and geographical areas of unprecedented human development, whether in terms of technical progress, commercial and cultural exchanges and maritime exploration.

In 1949, at the end of the war and the Japanese occupation, a century and a half of internal conflicts, colonial looting and political decline which will have kept it out of reach of the industrial revolution, China is among the poorest countries in the world. In seventy-five years, it will however rise to the rank of the first three world powers while remaining until then, as unusual as it is for observers accustomed to a very Western arrogance, in a relative discretion on the diplomatic level, perhaps through a cocktail of humility and patience. Of this necessary patience faced with a dying beast, still capable of mortal blows in its agony.

It was on September 7, 2013 that for the first time, Xi Jinping mentioned this project, baptized 一带一路 (yī dài yī lù, a belt, a road in French), later renamed Belt And Road Initiative (BRI) or the New Silk Road, in reference to the old trade route under the Han dynasty. During this speech delivered at the Nazarbayev University of Astana in Kazakhstan, Xi outlines its outlines and above all lists its principles: "sharing peace and development as long as they persist in unity and mutual trust, equality and mutual benefit, tolerance and learning from each other, as well as cooperation and win-win results", "to advance common development and prosperity, and work for the happiness and well-being of peoples of the countries of the region”. The BRI aims to bring all of Eurasia, but also Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia within reach of China and vice versa, by rail and sea. Nearly one trillion dollars has been invested by China along the Belt and Road for infrastructure upgrades under the win-win strategy that has been a hallmark of China's progressive diplomacy and development, particularly on the African continent. Not only are there countless cooperative projects between China and its partners put in place since the start of this pharaonic project, but it has also promoted cooperation between neighboring nations, thus making a counterpart to the conflictuality, to the grabbing and the spirit of division characteristic of American-Western imperialism which has dominated the world since the post-war period.

EU and EU: two sides of the same coin

Excluding itself de facto from this project, the United States perceives it as a Chinese hegemonic will (hospital and charity) and among its Western European allies, it is considered either with indifference or with a circumspection tinged with fear. to displease the White House, following the example of France or, more recently, of Italy, which was slapped on the knuckles after showing too much enthusiasm for the BRI and which, since Meloni's election, is considering its withdrawal, despite signed agreements.

Badly concealing the childish whims of an institution that is more zealous in submitting to Washington's desiderata than in acting in the interest of its peoples, the EU is creating a counter-project and the illusion that it still has something under control. In reality, it is having a terrible time not sinking: the destabilization of central Europe and the severing of its commercial ties with Russia orchestrated across the Atlantic are all maneuvers that seek to weaken it while putting obstacles in the way along the BRI.

Obstacles that China, patiently, keeps out of the way.

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