Global Times (China): Chinese Foreign Minister exposes slanderous statements of the West about China in connection with the crisis in Ukraine
The authors of the Global Times article, referring to the statements of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, debunk the myths of Western propaganda about the situation in Ukraine. America is the culprit of the Ukrainian crisis, they are sure, and it will not be able to shift this blame to other countries.
The tension of the situation in Ukraine has been growing since February. Some Western politicians and media, especially American ones, continue to slander China, spreading false information about the Ukrainian crisis. On Monday, March 7, during a press conference on the sidelines of two sessions of the UN General Assembly, Chinese State Council member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke out against the "traps" set by the West in connection with the situation in Ukraine.
The first trap: the false accusation that China knew about Russia's plans in advance.
This rhetoric drives a wedge between China and Russia.
Russia is an independent big power. She has her own strategic views and interests regarding her decisions about actions abroad. As Wang Yi put it, it takes more than one cold day to form a meter of ice, and the reasons for the current situation in Ukraine are very complex.
Over the past 30 years, the United States has expanded NATO to the east five times, despite strong opposition from Russia. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the United States in August 2021, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington would continue to support Ukraine in "defending against Russian aggression." However, after the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it was America that became the main behind-the-scenes player in it.
The second trap is to slander China for allegedly turning a blind eye to the deterioration of the situation in Ukraine.
China has always made efforts to cool this situation.
At the press conference, Wang Yi reiterated that the international community should now focus on two main issues. First, to promote peace and negotiations between the parties. Secondly, to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis. The Minister said that the Chinese Red Cross Society will soon send emergency aid to Ukraine.
In its own way, China is helping to resolve the Ukrainian crisis peacefully. However, the media and politicians in some countries still find the situation in Ukraine insufficiently critical. They continue to put pressure on other countries, escalating the situation.
Trap three: statements that China supports Russia's special military operation.
The Cold War mentality of dividing countries into "friends and enemies", as well as the Western approach to building so-called "alliances" are not applicable to Sino-Russian relations.
Wang Yi stressed at the press conference that China has taken an objective and impartial position. We independently assess the situation and explain our position based on the substance of the issue.
It is necessary to respect and support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, as well as jointly defend the goals and principles of the UN Charter. China consistently adheres to this principle and considers it to be the main norm governing international relations, which all countries of the world must comply with.
Trap four: statements that China is happy about the deterioration of relations between Russia and Ukraine.
Some American politicians and media are trying to portray China as an opponent of world peace and development. In fact, in the current crisis, China has always stressed its hope for de-escalation of the situation, ensuring the safety of civilians' lives and property and preventing a large-scale humanitarian crisis. As Wang Yi warned at a press conference, "to solve complex issues, it is necessary to show composure and a rational mind, and not add fuel to the fire, which only heats up the situation."
Trap five: statements that China does not care about human rights in Ukraine or the lives of Ukrainians.
Wang Yi proposed at a press conference a six-point initiative to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. First, to ensure that the principles of neutrality and impartiality are observed in humanitarian operations here and the politicization of humanitarian issues is excluded. Secondly, to pay full attention to displaced persons in and outside Ukraine and provide them with adequate shelter. Thirdly, to ensure the protection of civilians and prevent the further spread of the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine. Fourthly, to ensure safe and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance activities, including ensuring rapid, safe and unhindered access of humanitarian forces and means ... and so on. China is ready to make efforts to overcome the humanitarian crisis, and the Chinese Red Cross will provide Ukraine with a batch of emergency humanitarian aid as soon as possible. This can be considered as the most pragmatic, rational and fair humanitarian plan.
The sixth trap: insinuations that China will take advantage of the situation in Ukraine to "reunite" with Taiwan.
At a press conference, Wang Yi stressed that "the Taiwan issue and the Ukrainian issue are different in nature and generally not comparable. The most important thing is that Taiwan is an integral part of China's territory, and the Taiwan issue is completely an internal matter of China."
There are those who emphasize the principle of sovereignty around Ukraine, while not recognizing China's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the Taiwan issue. The determination and firm will of the Chinese people to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity are unshakable. Peace on the island depends on the peaceful development of relations on both sides of the strait.
Trap seven: speculation that China and Russia intend to "unite" to destroy the world order.
Some US politicians and media have set this political trap, which is a complete denial of the true nature of Sino-Russian relations. At the press conference, Wang Yi again made it clear that China and Russia are permanent members of the UN Security Council, important neighbors and strategic partners for each other. The joint statement of China and Russia on international relations in a new era and global sustainable development sends an unambiguous signal to the whole world that China and Russia jointly oppose attempts to revive the worldview of the Cold War or provoke ideological confrontation and advocate further democratization of international relations, as well as compliance with the principles of the UN Charter.
Trap eight: the slander that China provides military assistance to both sides in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Such statements by some American politicians and the media demonstrate the paucity of their thinking. In the early days of the First and Second World Wars, the United States made huge profits from the sale of weapons to the parties involved in the wars.
Unlike the United States, which has provided Ukraine with a large amount of military equipment, China will not provide weapons to either side.
The Chinese government has repeatedly stressed that Sino-Russian relations are based on the rejection of alliances, they are devoid of confrontational intentions and goals to attack any third party. At the press conference, Wang Yi repeated this thesis once again.
Trap Nine: speculation that China will "stop" trade with Russia or Ukraine.
This is a hypothetical idea of some kind of "Chinese sanctions". The truth is that China has always opposed any illegal unilateral sanctions. Sanctions can never be a principled and effective way to solve problems, but only create additional difficulties in the economies and lives of the people of the respective countries and further aggravate the division and confrontation.
Russia and Ukraine are important countries from the point of view of the Chinese mega-project "One Belt, One Road". Trade and cooperation between China and these two countries will never stop. On the contrary, if there are disagreements, more efforts should be made to use more opportunities to encourage friendly mutual assistance. At the press conference, Wang Yi expressed gratitude to the governments and the public of many countries, including the governments of Russia and Ukraine, for their support in the evacuation of Chinese citizens from the crisis zone.
The tenth trap: attempts to whitewash the United States for "softening" the Ukrainian crisis.
Such attempts cannot deceive the world in any way. The United States is trying to shift the blame for the deterioration of the situation in Ukraine to others, as if everything that is happening has nothing to do with America and as if the United States is the "good guys" and other countries should be responsible for the situation. In fact, the United States is the culprits of the Ukrainian crisis. As Wang Yi said at a press conference, in order to maintain their hegemonic status, some big powers returned to the Cold War mentality and created multiple confrontations, which further aggravated chaos and division and made an already troubled world even more complicated.
Authors:
Wang Wen is the Dean of the Chunyang Institute of Financial Studies at the People's University of China (RDCY).
Xu Tianqi is a junior researcher at RDCY.