On September 26, 2025, the marble halls of the United Nations General Assembly echoed with a familiar tension as Chinese Premier Li Qiang took the podium. The world’s diplomatic stage, always abuzz during these annual gatherings, felt especially charged this year. Li’s address, delivered with measured resolve, sent ripples through the international community, underscoring the ongoing friction between China and the United States while positioning China as a steadfast advocate for multilateralism and the global order.
Li Qiang’s speech, though never naming names, left little doubt about its intended audience. According to AFP, Li “warned against a return to a ‘Cold War mentality’ and defended multilateralism and free trade, in a veiled criticism of the United States from the United Nations.” The phrase ‘Cold War mentality’—a loaded term in diplomatic circles—served as a pointed rebuke of what Li described as resurging unilateralism and protectionism, trends he argued are destabilizing the world order painstakingly built over the past eight decades.
“The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation,” Li declared, his words reverberating through the assembly. “Unilateralism and (the) Cold War mentality are resurfacing. The international rules and order built over the past 80 years are under serious challenge and the once effective international system is constantly disrupted,” he continued, according to News24 and AFP. For Li, humanity is standing “once again… at a crossroads,” faced with decisions that could either reaffirm or undermine the principles of global cooperation.
Li’s remarks came at a time when the United States—under President Donald Trump—had shifted its foreign policy posture. While Washington was once the chief custodian of the international order, the Trump administration has, as reported by both News24 and AFP, “shifted from defending international conventions to emphasizing raw US power.” This pivot has not gone unnoticed by Beijing or by America’s Pacific allies, who have long urged China to respect the status quo and allow freedom of navigation in the contested waters of the South China Sea. The region, a strategic hotbed, remains a flashpoint for maritime disputes and geopolitical maneuvering.
But it was Li’s critique of protectionism that drew particular attention. Without directly referencing President Trump, Li condemned the use of tariffs and trade barriers—tools the Trump administration has wielded in its economic standoffs, most notably with China. “A major cause of the current global economic doldrums is the rise in unilateral and protectionist measures such as tariff hikes and the erection of walls and barriers,” Li stated, as quoted by AFP. The implication was clear: policies that prioritize national advantage at the expense of open markets and international collaboration risk plunging the global economy into stagnation.
Li was quick to contrast these approaches with China’s own. “China has consistently opened its door wider to the world,” he said, reiterating a familiar refrain from Beijing’s playbook. This assertion, presented as a badge of honor, sought to reassure the world that China remains committed to economic openness—even as it faces criticism over its own trade practices and regional ambitions.
Throughout his address, Li painted China as a responsible stakeholder, eager to work with others to uphold the ideals enshrined in the UN Charter. “China hopes to work with the rest of the world to uphold the ideals of the UN,” he affirmed, according to both News24 and AFP. In this vision, China is not merely a participant in the international system—it is a guardian of its continuity, stability, and effectiveness.
For many observers, Li’s speech was as much about optics as substance. By invoking the specter of a new Cold War, he tapped into anxieties that have grown as US-China relations have soured in recent years. Tariffs, tech bans, and tit-for-tat sanctions have become the new normal, with ripple effects felt in boardrooms and households from Shanghai to Silicon Valley. The message from Beijing: China is not the disruptor, but rather the aggrieved party seeking to preserve a system now threatened by others’ retreat from global engagement.
This narrative, of course, is not uncontested. The United States and its allies remain deeply wary of China’s intentions, especially in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s island-building and naval patrols have raised alarms about freedom of navigation and regional security. The Trump administration’s emphasis on “raw US power,” as News24 put it, reflects a broader skepticism toward international institutions that, in Washington’s view, have failed to check China’s rise or enforce the rules fairly. Instead, the US has opted for a more transactional approach, using its economic and military clout to pursue national interests—sometimes at the expense of multilateral consensus.
Yet, Li’s appeal for collaboration and his warning against division resonated with many nations caught in the crossfire of great power rivalry. For smaller countries and emerging economies, the prospect of a new Cold War is deeply unsettling. The memory of the last one—marked by proxy wars, ideological competition, and economic bifurcation—serves as a cautionary tale. Li’s call for unity, then, was designed not only to counter US narratives but also to rally the so-called ‘silent majority’ of states who prefer stability and predictability in global affairs.
It’s worth noting that Li’s defense of multilateralism is not without its critics. Some argue that China’s own actions—ranging from its assertiveness in the South China Sea to its Belt and Road Initiative—reflect a desire to reshape, rather than simply uphold, the international order. Others point to China’s domestic policies as evidence of selective engagement with global norms. Still, Li’s speech at the UN was a calculated effort to frame China as a force for good at a moment when the very architecture of international cooperation seems up for grabs.
As the dust settles on this year’s General Assembly, one thing is clear: the contest over who gets to define the rules of the road is far from over. Li Qiang’s remarks, delivered with diplomatic finesse, were a reminder that the battle for the future of multilateralism is being waged not just in policy papers and press releases, but in the very words spoken from the world’s most prominent stage.
For now, the world watches and waits—hoping, perhaps, that leaders will choose cooperation over confrontation as humanity stands, once again, at a crossroads.