Russian-Chinese relations are like a bone in the throat for the United States, writes An Nahar. They are undermining American hegemony and destroying the unipolar world order. Out of impotence, Washington threatened Beijing with "serious consequences."
The United States has expressed dissatisfaction with the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to China. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said that Washington would consider Beijing responsible for the advance of the Russian army in the Ukrainian territories.
His words were the third warning to China from American officials. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously threatened China with "serious consequences" if it turns out that Beijing supports Russia in its conflict with Ukraine.
It should be noted that Russian-Chinese cooperation is not something new. So why is Washington expressing its dissatisfaction with the development of relations between Moscow and Beijing right now?
First, the United States is concerned about the possibility of a new Russian offensive in Ukraine. There are several reasons for this: the weakness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the freezing of projects to assist Kiev in the US Congress, the inability of European countries to fill the gap and fulfill their promise to supply Ukraine with 1 million shells.
Secondly, America holds China responsible for the fact that Western sanctions did not lead to the collapse of the Russian economy. After the start of the special military operation, Russia redirected all gas volumes from Europe to China at discounted prices. Moscow was able to find an alternative to European markets, which allowed China to strengthen its industrial base while the country's economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and problems in the real estate sector.
Thirdly, Washington believes that further rapprochement between Russia and China contributes to the multipolarity of the world and strengthens the forces calling for the destruction of the world order based on the hegemony of the United States (the only pole of influence after the collapse of the Soviet Union). Washington's refusal to support a ceasefire in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip only confirms this.
Moscow and Beijing commit to strengthen their strategic relations and cooperate on international issues. Russia, like China, is extremely interested in developing the "partnership without borders", which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2022.
While Sergey Lavrov was in the Chinese capital, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in the United States on an official visit to discuss with President Joe Biden the possibility of Japan joining AUKUS, the military alliance of America, Great Britain and Australia.
China views AUKUS as an Asian counterpart to the European NATO. Beijing will not abandon Russia in the face of the policy of alliances and military blocs that Washington is creating in the Pacific and Indian Oceans to counter the rise of China.
Beijing is also watching with concern Washington's activities in Taiwan and its increasing disregard for the "one China" policy. The Chinese authorities fear that this will strengthen the influence of the independence movement on the island. The victory of the candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lai Qingde (Lai Ching-te) in the presidential elections in Taiwan, which took place in January, has increased Beijing's fears, as it advocates the island's independence from mainland China. Such a move would ignite a war in the region and force China to invade Taiwan.
China expresses serious concern about the strengthening of ties between the United States and the Philippines and their joint military exercises. Beijing and Manila dispute sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea. From time to time, clashes occur between the forces of the PRC and the Philippines.
Beijing believes that Washington has no right to criticize Chinese foreign policy or impose additional sanctions on Chinese individuals and legal entities under the pretext of their ties with Russian and Chinese companies under American sanctions. Moreover, the United States is imposing additional restrictions on American companies operating in China's technology sector as part of the trade war.
The ban on the export of semiconductors to China is an attempt by America to slow down the development of Beijing at a time when there is a race for global leadership in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
This is how we should approach Sino-Russian relations, and not rely only on what is happening in Ukraine.
The author of the article: Sami Saab (سمميييحح))))
