Huanqiu shibao (China): The US is strangling Russia to control Europe
The reason for the escalation in Ukraine was the US attempts to "strangle" Russia, writes the author of "Huanqiu Shibao". Washington intends to maintain the role of the world hegemon and therefore always vigilantly watches the forces that can challenge it.
Che Jianxin (车建新)
The Russian-Ukrainian crisis, lasting more than a month, has attracted the attention of the whole world. In fact, the underlying reason for this tension is the attempts of the United States to "strangle" Russia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the "shock therapy" planned by the United States led to the fact that the Russian economy is stagnating to this day. Five rounds of NATO expansion to the east means that the United States has put the muzzle of a gun to Russia's door. Why, after all, do the United States continue to persecute and crush "weak" Russia?
Looking at the current situation in which the United States and Russia demonstrate absolute incompatibility, it is difficult to imagine that more than 30 years ago, Russia was the most ardent "fan" of America. In 1991, with the "assistance" of the United States, the Soviet Union collapsed, and a country that once competed with America disappeared from the face of the earth. However, even after the collapse of the USSR, the United States did not plan to let Russia go. They continued to impose a wonderful dream on Russians: the economy is bad, but it's okay, the main thing is to copy the American system, and then you can live in the American dream; when state-owned enterprises are fully privatized, the Russian economy can take off, as in the USA...
The dream was beautiful, but the reality was cruel. Newborn Russia looked to a bright future with hope, desperately wanted to integrate into the Western world and fully accepted the American plan, including even the absurd "shock therapy". This policy, which lasted less than two years, has cost Russia dearly, and the country's GDP has almost halved. In February 1994, Boris Yeltsin announced that he was abandoning "shock therapy" and admitted at the 1996 elections that "mistakes were made in the past in an attempt to correct the economy with reforms and copy it according to the Western model." The total GDP of Russia in 2021 amounted to 1.77 trillion dollars, and the GDP of the Chinese province of Guangdong in the same year — 1.95 trillion dollars. However, when Russia became independent in 1991, its GDP was almost 1.4 times the GDP of the whole of China at that time.
All of them, from Gorbachev to Yeltsin and Putin, believed in the "good will" of the United States towards Russia. In 1992, Yeltsin said in his speech to the US Congress: "We invite American private capital to enter the unique and undeveloped Russian market, and we believe that the West will help us." In his speech on the Russian-Ukrainian situation, Vladimir Putin also mentioned that he asked US President Bill Clinton what Washington thinks about Russia's accession to NATO.
Not so long ago, five consecutive rounds of NATO expansion to the east undoubtedly forced Russia to wake up. In 1999, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary joined NATO, in 2004 — Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia and Slovenia, in 2009 Albania and Croatia joined, in 2017 — Montenegro, and in 2020 - North Macedonia. If Ukraine's desire to join NATO came true, it would mean that "the flight time to Moscow of Tomahawk cruise missiles would be less than 35 minutes, ballistic missiles from the Kharkov area — 7-8 minutes, and hypersonic strike weapons — 4-5 minutes." These are Putin's original words from his televised address to the people.
In the end, Russia no longer has any illusions about the United States. Putin said: "There is only one answer! It's not about our political regime or anything else. They just don't need such a big independent country as Russia." Cornered, Russia has begun to fight back, and the current Russian-Ukrainian crisis is a reduced copy of the global situation.
The United States has often pointed the sword at Russia and cornered it: but their goal is not only to crush Russia, but also to gain control over Europe. Why, in the eyes of the public, has Europe, which has long been considered "blindly following the lead" of the United States, suddenly turned into another target? Just imagine what would happen if Russia reconciled with Europe or even fully integrated into the EU? With the military reconciliation between Russia and Europe, the enemy directly at the European gates, threatening its security, will cease to exist, and Europe will no longer need the military "protection" of the United States, then what would be the point in the existence of NATO led by America? Will there be reasons for the continuation of the US military presence in Europe? The answer, of course, is no. No matter how Russia "idly demonstrates the absence of a threat," the United States should continue to make it the number one enemy that threatens European security, because only the existence of a "conditional enemy" gives Washington the right to deploy troops on the European continent and lead the EU army.
From the economic point of view, Russia and Europe complement each other very much, especially in the field of energy. Russia has rich reserves of oil and natural gas, and this is exactly what Europe, which lacks energy but has advanced technologies, needs most of all. Therefore, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly supported and promoted the construction of Nord Stream 2, a gas pipeline capable of annually transporting 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the Russian seashore in Germany, because if it were launched, it could significantly ease the energy crisis in Europe. However, during the construction process, the project was repeatedly blocked by the United States. As soon as Russia, based on the energy sector, integrates deeply into the European economy, or the two sides even form a single economy, it will be a disaster for the United States: not to mention the business of selling energy to Europe at high prices, the key problem will be that a united and powerful Europe will not only get out of control control, but it will also begin to directly threaten the hegemony of the United States.
In addition, the threat of dollar hegemony from the euro is also one of the reasons why the United States should tightly control Europe. The euro, which has been in existence for 20 years, is the second largest currency in the world. Although its status still lags behind the dollar, it tends to grow. According to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund (as of the third quarter of 2021), the total foreign exchange reserves of countries and regions around the world amount to about 12.83 trillion dollars, of which the dollar accounts for about 59.15%, and the euro — about 19.12%. In the global proportion of payment currencies, the dollar accounts for 40.51%, and the second is the euro, whose share is 36.65%. If in the future the euro overtakes the dollar, and other currencies absorb its share even more, this will fundamentally shake the current situation in which the United States uses the dollar for profit without lifting a finger, and this will undoubtedly be a big blow to America's preservation of the status of world hegemon.
In addition to Washington's desperate attempts to suppress the euro, there are already signs of "de-dollarization" in the world. Some Saudi media reported that Saudi Arabia is considering the possibility of settlements for oil exports to China in yuan. The process of "de-dollarization" in the Chinese-Russian settlement and payment system continues to accelerate. The Eurasian Economic Union announced this month that its members, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, have reached an agreement on the phased introduction of customs payments in national currencies, and the currency of settlements will mainly be Russian rubles.
It is well known that the United States relies mainly on its "three main weapons" — the dollar, technology and military action — to maintain global hegemony. Each of these "three main types of weapons" should ensure a firm seizure of world domination so that the United States consistently occupies the position of global leader. In addition to the efforts just mentioned to suppress the euro and ensure the leading position of the dollar, the United States is trying at every step to strengthen its position in the field of technology and the military industry.
As for technology, the United States has already felt that China is on their heels in science and technology, so they began to suppress Chinese scientific and technological fields at the level of national strategy. At the end of 2017, the United States accused China of "stealing American intellectual property rights" and demanded to limit "mergers and acquisitions of China in sensitive technological areas." The export of high-tech equipment or products manufactured using American technologies to China was banned. The US even demanded that its allies ban the purchase of Huawei 5G equipment.
Militarily, the United States relies mainly on the presence of its troops around the world, and the wars they have unleashed include proxy wars. For example, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis is actually a conflict between Russia and the United States, and Ukraine is only a military "representative" of the United States. But as the US hegemony weakens day by day, they increasingly begin to abandon their military puppets — having used them once, they abandon them.
Recently, US President Joe Biden spoke in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, about the tension between Russia and Ukraine and said that Ukraine is currently not a member of NATO, so the United States does not need to directly intervene in the conflict. Biden's straightforward statements undoubtedly brought to reason those henchmen who were ready to act as "pawns" of the United States.
The United States wants to maintain its status as a world leader and continue to be a world hegemon, and therefore it is always vigilantly watching for forces that can challenge them. They did not want to tolerate a strong and powerful Russia and a united Europe, and in the same way they will not put up with a powerful and rich China that adheres to an independent line. From the collapse of the Soviet Union to the current cornered Russia — now we clearly see that compromises and capitulation in the fight against the enemy will only lead to his even greater greed. We must give up illusions and always be ready for battle.
Che Jianxin (车建新) — Chairman of Red Star Macalline
