China’s Xi Says Regional Alliance Will Thwart ‘Color Revolutions’

President Xi Jinping called for China’s central Asian security partners at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to take common steps block external efforts at destabilizing countries through “color revolutions” – a reference to a series of externally backed revolutions which have rocked Middle East and ex-Soviet satellite countries in recent years.

“We should prevent external forces from instigating a color revolution,” Xi said in a Friday speech, offering as part of a potential initiative toward that end to train 2,000 police officers. These officers, he suggested, could be sent through a regional counterterrorism training center which will “strengthen law enforcement capacity building” which would help prevent destabilizing threats from outside.

He asked for countries represented at the conference to “guard against attempts by external forces to provoke a color revolution, and jointly oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs under any pretext.”

He agreed with prior opening remarks of Vladimir Putin at the summit which emphasized a theme of declining US power as the unipolar world is disappearing. Xi said the regional SCO allies must stand together for a “just, democratic, multipolar world order based on international law and the central role of the UN, and not some rules that somebody invented and attempts to impose on others without even explaining what they are.”

Below is what Xi said regarding regional security cooperation to block external interference and promote a stable order, according to an official translation and transcript: 

“…We need to expand security cooperation. A proverb in Uzbekistan goes to the effect that “With peace, a country enjoys prosperity, just as with rain, the land can flourish.” The Global Security Initiative put forward by China is to address the peace deficit and global security challenges. It calls on all countries to stay true to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture. We welcome all stakeholders to get involved in implementing this initiative.”

“We should continue to carry out joint anti-terrorism exercises, crack down hard on terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking as well as cyber and transnational organized crimes; and we should effectively meet the challenges in data security, biosecurity, outer space security and other non-traditional security domains. China is ready to train 2,000 law enforcement personnel for SCO member states in the next five years, and establish a China-SCO base for training counter-terrorism personnel, so as to enhance capacity-building for law enforcement of SCO member states.”

And further on resisting efforts of hegemonic powers in the West to subvert rival strong centers of power, Xi said, “we need to uphold multilateralism. Obsession with forming a small circle can only push the world toward division and confrontation.”

A Russian state news agency says Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned his Central Asian neighbors against allowing outsiders to destabilize them with “color revolutions.” https://t.co/0zzGqBVcGB

— ABC News (@ABC) September 16, 2022

At the summit, Putin had thanked President Xi for China’s “balanced” approach to the Ukraine crisis. Regarding color revolutions, it’s long been the Kremlin’s position that starting in 2014 the US and NATO allies sponsored the Maidan uprising in order to overthrow the Russia-friendly Viktor Yanukovych.

Interestingly, Putin himself had at the SCO summit spoken of the West’s drive to dismantle Russia itself through penetrating and destabilizing actions, particularly in neighboring Ukraine…

Putin: The West has for decades sought to dismantle Russia and is now trying to use Ukraine as a tool for achieving this goal. pic.twitter.com/b4o9mznWiX

— Putin Direct (@PutinDirect) September 16, 2022