US-China Relations - 24. page

Recently, many Chinese netizens have chosen to shop at the “Russia National Pavilion,” the only e-commerce platform in China that is authorized by the Russian embassy. Many items such as snacks  and teas were sold out. The number of fans of the store is also skyrocketing.

On March 2, a thank-you video appeared on the homepage of the store. The commercial ambassador of the Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce in China said that, at this difficult time, he would like to thank his Chinese friends for their support to Russia and the Russian National Pavilion.  He said he will remember this deep friendship and, at the same time, call on his Chinese friends to consume rationally.

Regarding whether China would continue to carry on trade with Russia while Western countries sanctioned Russia one after another, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, on March 2, “China firmly opposes any illegal unilateral sanctions. Sanctions have never been the fundamental and effective way to solve a problem. It will only bring serious difficulties to the economy and to people’s livelihoods in the relevant countries, and further aggravate division and confrontation. China requires relevant parties not to damage the legitimate rights and interests of China and other parties when handling the Ukraine issue and relations with Russia. China and Russia will continue to carry out normal trade cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, “The Chinese government’s position is that sanctions are never a fundamental and effective way to solve problems and China always opposes any illegal unilateral sanctions. According to the US Treasury Department’s own published data, in the past 20 years, the number of sanctions imposed by the United States has increased by 10 times.  . . . Since 2011, the United States has imposed sanctions on Russia more than 100 times but everyone can calmly think about it or discuss it. Have the U.S. sanctions solved the problem? Has the world changed for the better because of the U.S. sanctions? Will the Ukrainian problem be solved naturally because of the U.S. sanctions on Russia? Will the security of Europe be more secure because of the U.S. sanctions on Russia?”

Guo Shuqing, Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said at a news conference that as far as financial sanctions are concerned, China does not agree with the sanctions because it has a bad effect and has no legal basis. China will not participate in the sanctions.

Source: Duowei News, March 3, 2022
https://www.dwnews.com/中国/60280809/中国网友敏感时刻买爆俄罗斯国家馆商品?itm_source=universal_search&itm_campaign=universal_search&itm_content=买爆俄罗斯国家馆商品&itm_medium=web

Global Times, China’s state media, published a commentary on the U.S. and other Western countries’ sanctions against Russia. The author of the article was the deputy Chief editor of Securities Daily (Chinese), Dong Shaopeng. The article said:

“At present, the sanctions against Russia by the United States and Western countries have not only increased in scope, but also showed a trend of “crossing the border” and even cats in Russia are sanctioned . The International Federation of Feline Animals (FIFe) has announced that any cats raised in Russia will not be allowed to register on the official pedigree of FIFe outside of Russia. Pet exhibitors from Russia are not allowed to participate in the FIFe Pet Show outside of Russia.”

“The essence of the sanctions is unilateral punishment . . .  Under certain conditions, as a means to correct imbalances in the political and economic fields, sanctions are justified.”

“However, in the context of power politics and hegemonism, the rationality of sanctions has been largely eliminated, and sometimes sanctions and oppression have been mixed together. The United States and Western countries often initiate sanctions out of self-interest, rather than upholding international law or international morality. They have wantonly expanded the scope of the so-called sanctions, not only habitually bullying the weak, but even making up excuses to abuse sanctions, which has radicalized the “sanction culture.” In this Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States and Western countries and entities have imposed sanctions on the use rights of transnational financial infrastructure, public communication tools, international sports competitions, cultural exchange projects, and more, and they have imposed sanctions in areas that belonged to friendly exchanges. The instrumentalization of these domains and platforms has completely distorted the normal communication mechanism between people and countries, violated the norms of international relations and general political principles, and fully exposed the ugliness of its hegemony and power.”

Source: Global times, March 2, 2022
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/471UMdqcRVV

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently published a commentary by its Beijing Commissioner. The commentary referred to comments from Chinese and Hong Kong scholars. Even for Ukraine, which is so important geopolitically to the United States, the United States has made it clear that it will not send troops. Based on this, it is fair to say that in the event of a war in the Taiwan Strait, the United States will provide military assistance and share weapons, but the possibility of sending troops directly is zero. The phrase “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow” has continued to appear in public opinion after the situation in Ukraine heated up. The Ukraine crisis is indirectly related to China because of the psychological expectations caused by the Taiwan issue. In terms of geopolitics, Ukraine is more important to the United States than Taiwan. The United States also psychologically regards Ukraine as a “semi-member” of NATO, but Taiwan does not have such a status. External events are a factor for Beijing to consider, but not a decisive factor. Even if there is a window now, for Beijing, the problem is not the reunification of the two sides of the strait, but how to solve the various governance problems that arise after the reunification. The Ukraine issue also made it clear that Russia and the U.S. cannot really come together, which is critical to China. If Russia is classified as part of the West, under the current relationship between China and the West, China will face a very dangerous situation.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, February 20, 2022
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20220220-1244522

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular press conference on February 24 that the U.S. has been raising tensions to the point of inciting the danger of war. The U.S. has shipped more than 1,000 tons of weapons and ammunition worth at least $1.5 billion to the Ukraine. At this time, if all parties performed the task of persuading others to be peaceful, we could examine the ins and outs of the Ukraine issue together; we could respect and take care of each other’s security concerns, solve them reasonably, and properly make the situation a soft landing. What would that situation be like? . . . It is really not a responsible behavior for those who follow the United States to fan the flames, and then accuse others of not helping after they set up the fire. “As the initiator, the person who started the fire should consider how to put out the fire as soon as possible with practical actions now, instead of blaming others.”

On February 24, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Wang Yi told him that China always respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. At the same time, we have also seen that the  issue has its complex and special historical latitude and longitude, and we understand Russia’s legitimate concerns on security issues.

Source: Xinhua, February 24, 2022
http://www.news.cn/world/2022-02/24/c_1128413011.htm
http://www.news.cn/world/2022-02/24/c_1128413630.htm

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that the U.S. has no intention of engaging with China in the upcoming Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. However, it is in discussions with partners who share the same vision for a free and open region without coercion. The U.S. is in preliminary talks on the Economic Framework and currently does not intend to involve the People’s Republic of China in the Framework. Kritenbrink said that the U.S. is in initial dialogues with partners across the region who share the same vision of living again in a free and open region where nations are free to pursue economic and security interests. The United States released an Indo-Pacific strategy report on the 11th of this month, vowing to invest more diplomatic and security resources in the Indo-Pacific region to resist China, which it accused of trying to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. This is the first regional strategy report of the U.S. Biden Administration. The strategy report said it will focus on the areas from South Asia to the Pacific Islands to strengthen the United States’ long-term position and commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. According to a recent study that the ASEAN Studies Centre – ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore conducted, the U.S. government refocused on Indo-Pacific, boosting Southeast Asian countries’ confidence in U.S. leadership. However, in terms of economic, political and strategic influence, Southeast Asian countries generally believe that China has more influence in the region.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, February 17, 2022
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20220217-1243762