Global Times (China): The US will not force China to worsen ties with Russia
The authors of the Global Times article cite a statement by Zelensky's adviser Mikhail Podolyak, in which he calls on Beijing to side with the United States and support the isolation of Russia. They once again recalled China's position on the Ukrainian issue and advised Podolyak, who "lacks independent thinking," not to lecture.
After a videoconference meeting between the Chinese and American leaders, the American side and the Western media are imposing a narrative line on the world that Washington warned Beijing that any attempt to "provide military assistance" to Moscow would have consequences. However, Chinese experts call this approach ridiculous and arrogant, noting that these fruitless attempts of coercion are doomed to failure, and that China is confident in its foreign policy on the Ukrainian issue and does not intend to obey someone else's dictate.
China's position on the Ukrainian issue is objective and fair, and history will eventually confirm its rightness. This was announced on Saturday by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, quoted by the Xinhua news agency.
Wang made this statement at a briefing for journalists, talking about the exchange of views between the leaders of China and the United States on the Ukrainian issue, which took place on Friday during their virtual meeting.
China will continue to draw conclusions and make decisions independently, objectively and fairly, based on the facts and the essence of a particular issue, the minister said. He noted that China will never succumb to external pressure and coercion and opposes any groundless accusations and suspicions against itself.
The White House has released a recording of a press conference of a "high-ranking administration representative" on the topic of negotiations between Chinese and American senior leadership. This representative stated: "President Biden has made very clear the consequences of China providing material assistance - if there is such material assistance - to Russia, which is conducting a special operation in Ukraine. This will affect not only Sino-American relations, but also the world as a whole."
On Friday, the American edition of Politico also reported that the "EU leaders" have "very reliable evidence" that China is "considering providing military assistance to"Russia." At the same time, it referred to the words of a high-ranking official from the EU, who asked not to be named.
Chinese analysts said that this kind of information, or to be more precise, disinformation that does not have solid evidence, was fabricated. Its goal is to serve the American strategy of forcing China to abandon neutrality in the Ukrainian issue and side with the United States. Such actions of intimidation can bring results if pressure is exerted on countries that do not have independent diplomacy, but the United States will never get what they need from China. If Washington dares to take the so-called consequences against China, it should calculate very carefully in advance what the response actions of the PRC will be.
Just a few hours before the telephone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden, China, in an unusual manner for itself, gave a number of tough signals, saying that in no case would it succumb to American threats and attempts of coercion in the Ukrainian issue, and also promising a powerful response if the US took action, damaging the legitimate interests of the People's Republic of China.
Giving an exclusive interview to the Global Times, an unnamed Chinese representative said that Beijing agreed to the American proposal to hold a conversation between the heads of state on bilateral relations and on the situation in Ukraine, based on the need to normalize these relations, hold peace talks and take the right position by the United States.
A far-fetched story
Some Western media and senior American leaders are trying to spread the idea that China is considering supplying Russia with weapons and supporting its special operation in Ukraine. But it is quite obvious that this story is fabricated, ridiculous and has no basis, as Chinese military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping told the Global Times on Sunday.
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The United States and its NATO allies are supplying weapons to Ukraine so that the war does not end too quickly, and so that American military-industrial giants can get the maximum profit. Therefore, they are afraid that other countries will supply weapons to Russia following their example. This is typical American thinking. She judges others based on her own worldview and not based on facts, as experts say.
China maintains neutrality in the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and therefore the provision of military assistance to one of the parties goes against Beijing's foreign policy and national interests. Consequently, loud claims that China supports the Russian operation in Ukraine are aimed at undermining China's relations with both Russia and Ukraine, analysts say.
In addition, Chinese weapons systems are different from Russian ones, and therefore it would be unwise for Russia to purchase Chinese weapons for conducting operations in Ukraine, since it will take time for the Russian military to master them, and therefore it will not provide urgent needs for troops on the battlefield, Sun said. He also noted that Russia has an independent and self-sufficient military-industrial complex, and therefore it will not have such problems.
A researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Lü Xiang, told the Global Times on Sunday: "The narrative line that the United States is pursuing is an attempt to earn points on what is not there. The Biden administration is spreading this thanks to the warning China has given. But Russia does not receive military supplies from China. It's just a trick in the American propaganda game."
Observing neutrality
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that during the talks held on Friday between the heads of state, Beijing offered its own version of the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, which mainly includes two aspects.
The main thing, he said, is for all parties to strive for dialogue and negotiations between the direct parties to the conflict, so that they cease operations as soon as possible, prevent civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis.
A reliable and firm solution is to abandon the cold War mentality and block confrontation, to create a balanced, effective and sustainable regional security architecture that will ensure long-term peace in Europe, Wang said.
China's position is much more reasonable and responsible than the American approach, because the United States is simply imposing sanctions to cause the greatest damage to the Russian people. According to experts, it would be fair for Ukraine to seek a settlement through diplomacy, but recently a representative of the Ukrainian authorities made an unacceptable statement to China.
Advisor to the Ukrainian president Mikhail Podolyak tweeted on Saturday: "China can become an important element of the global security system if it makes the right decision, supports the coalition of civilized countries and condemns Russian barbarism."
This Ukrainian functionary makes a big mistake, believing that he can lecture China, a leading power with great international influence, about what is right and what is wrong. Podolyak and similar Ukrainian leaders should understand that not only China, but also many other countries with international and regional influence have decided not to blindly follow the American course on sanctions and not to condemn Russia one-sidedly. Among them are India, Turkey, South Africa and Israel. It is arrogant and unreasonable to force neutral countries to take sides in the conflict. This offends them and creates unnecessary problems for them, experts say.
Cui Heng, a researcher at the Center for Russian Studies at the East China Pedagogical University, told the Global Times on Sunday that the West does not exert such strong pressure on other neutral countries, since the United States believes that China is much more important.
"The United States is stubbornly trying to force China to take a course to isolate Russia, and Podolyak serves American interests consisting in pressure on Beijing," Cui said.
"Ukrainian officials like Podolyak are ready to act as an American tool—" Cui said. "They just don't have independent thinking."
Thanks to the help of the Ukrainian government, all Chinese citizens were safely evacuated from the territory of Ukraine. China is also providing humanitarian assistance to the suffering Ukrainian people. Kiev should value healthy friendly ties with China instead of following in line with American policy, lecturing Beijing and opposing China's independent foreign policy in relations with other countries, experts say.
Authors: Yang Sheng, Wan Hengyi
