This webinar brings together a panel of leading international and British speakers to discuss what the rise of the Global South means for Britain and the prospects for developing an independent foreign policy that contributes towards peace and prosperity instead of war, destruction and poverty.

The British government has followed the United States in pursuing damaging cold war policies against China and other countries, contributing to the massive US-led military build-up around Beijing in the Pacific, fuelling the NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and backing Israel’s brutal war and siege on Gaza.

The US’s agenda of escalating military aggression is rejected by most countries in the world – with the Global South instead favouring a framework of political independence, development, economic-cooperation and peace.

Featuring contributions from:

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· Sami Ramadani, Iraqi-born lecturer and writer on Middle East current affairs

· Roger McKenzie, Morning Star International Editor

· Radhika Desai, Professor at the University Manitoba and Director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group

· William Sakawa, Correspondent for African Stream

· Isabella Yasmin Kajiwara, Shado Magazine Editor

· Vijay Prashad, Director of Tricontinental Institute

· Fiona Edwards, No Cold War International Committee

· Musical performance from Calum Baird

· Hosted by: Ileana Chan and Sequoyah De Souza, No Cold War Britain

Speakers:

* Murad Qureshi, former Stop the War Chair and London Assembly Member

* Jess Barnard, Chair of Young Labour

* Anna Chen, writer, poet and broadcaster

* Sheila Xiao, co-founder of Pivot to Peace

* Ping Hua, ex-chair of Chinese Association of Southampton

* Suresh Grover, Director of the Monitoring Group

* Madison Tang, CODEPINK

* WahPiow Tan, Human Rights lawyer, Singapore exile and activist

* Aidan from Stop Asian Hate UK

* Mikaela Erskog, No Cold War

The British government’s obedience to the foreign policy agenda of the United States is leading Britain to pursue an increasingly aggressive cold war policy that is totally against the interests of the British people. Britain’s hostility towards Russia and China, two nuclear armed states, is not only directly contributing to the huge cost of living crisis engulfing the country but is also destabilising the global situation at the expense of peace and prosperity worldwide.

Britain helped scupper the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in April 2022 – negotiations in which an interim settlement seemed possible.

Britain’s excessive military budget is the fourth largest in the entire world and was higher than Germany, Belgium, Denmark and the Czech Republic combined in 2021.

Britain’s military budget stands at £48 billion - this is draining vital resources away from public services. The billions of pounds that Britain has spent in the past year sending weapons to prolong NATO’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine could be financing fair pay rises to settle the many pay disputes in the public sector or creating new green jobs to tackle the climate crisis.

Britain’s opposition to peace negotiations and its support for the economic war on Russia are acts of self-harm. The sanctions on Russia have hit living standards in Britain as cheaper Russian energy is being replaced by more expensive US liquefied gas.

The cold war agenda is leading Britain to have poorer relations with China, the world’s most dynamic and fastest growing major economy, which inevitably damages the opportunities for win-win cooperation and comes at the expense of jobs, trade, investment and access to the best and cheapest technology.

Featuring:

· Dr Gerald Horne, Chair of History and African American Studies, University of Houston (United States)

· Sheila Xiao, Co-founder of Pivot to Peace (United States)

· Vijay Prashad, Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research (India)

· Amanda Yee, Podcaster on politics, culture and media criticism (United States)

· Kevin Li, Qiao Collective (United States)

· Anna Chen, Writer, poet and broadcaster (Britain)

· Nick Estes, Red Nation (United States)

· Dr Ping Hua, Co-founder of the Chinese Association of Southampton and No Cold War Britain (Britain)

· Dr Anthony Pun, Chair of the Chinese Community Council of Australia (Australia)

· Dolores Chew, Fellow of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute (Canada)

The first casualty in war, hot or cold, is the truth.

As the New Cold War against China escalates, the United States political establishment and its allies are intensifying their efforts to restrict discussion on the international political situation, invoking anti-Chinese racist rhetoric and targeted smear campaigns.

This dangerous agenda seeks to justify an aggressive foreign policy towards China and is having a chilling effect on the political climate within the United States and allied countries such as Britain, Australia, and Canada.

Politicians and the mainstream media demonise China in an attempt to justify the New Cold War. McCarthyite witch-hunts are being launched against individuals for merely questioning or criticizing their government’s foreign policy. Especially concerning is the sharp increase of hate crimes and attacks against people of Chinese and East and Southeast Asian heritage in the West. It is clear that the propaganda war against China is directly fuelling this rise in racism and creating a climate in which Asian diaspora communities are being increasingly treated as “enemies within.”

This repressive environment is not merely a threat to democracy, it also increases the likelihood of dangerous and destructive foreign policy choices by shutting down debate. During the 20th century, McCarthyism prevented robust and objective discussions from taking place in the US about its Cold War foreign policy. This confining approach contributed to disastrous and criminal US policy decisions such as the Vietnam War. A similar atmosphere of fear and racism helped pave the way for the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Instead of adopting these Cold War, ideologically-charged, and alarmist approaches, we must create an open environment which fosters fact-based discussion and dialogue. Racism, witch-hunts, and censorious attacks on free speech are not only reprehensible, but also an obstacle to the global cooperation necessary to resolve the serious problems that the world faces.

On Saturday 12 March, join No Cold War for an international webinar featuring a range of scholars, experts and members of the international Chinese diaspora who will discuss why it is vital to oppose the rise in racism and witch-hunts and build the broadest opposition to the New Cold War.