China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas on July 3 that the country cannot afford for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine amid fears the U.S. would shift focus towards Beijing, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing sources familiar with the conversation.
As the war in Ukraine drags on, Wang’s reported comments suggest that Russia’s war in Ukraine may serve China’s strategic needs as focus is deviated away from Beijing’s mounting preparation to launch its own possible invasion into Taiwan.
[…]
China has been a key ally to Russia during its full-scale war, helping Moscow evade Western sanctions and becoming the leading source of dual-use goods fueling the Russian defense industry.
[…]
The frankness of Wang’s reported admission was greeted with surprise by EU official, according to Hong Kong-based SCMP, amid China’s past public statements in favor of a peace deal. Two sources familiar with the meeting told SCMP that they believed Wang was providing Kallas with a lesson in realpolitik during the four-hour encounter.
Wang on July 3 again reportedly rejected Western accusations that it was providing funding and weaponry to support Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly accused Beijing of providing weaponry to Moscow. On May 29, Zelensky said that China had stopped selling drones to Ukraine and Western countries while continuing to supply them to Russia.
[…]
I recommend people to listen to John Mearsheimer. He explains it very well. Basically there is three focal points in global geopolitics from the US perspective.
Eastern Europe, because there is Russia close to NATO. The Persian gulf, because there is the most Oil and Gas and South-East Asia, because there is China emerging as the main global competitor to US hegemony.
Because the US started to develop their own Oil and Gas exploitation, and China is ever growing, since Obama the goal is to shift the focus from the Middle East to South-East Asia. Now Russia bogged down US commitment in Eastern Europe and Israel keeps bogging down the US in the Middle East, ideally wanting to drag the US into a full scale war against Iran.
This situation is perfect for China as the US keeps its military resources away from where they actually need them for their geostrategy.
Subsequently China does not want Russia to win in Ukraine either. They want the US to remain involved. This is also why a different approach to China by the EU could be the best way forward for peace in Ukraine. If the EU dislodges itself from the US hegemony and stops involving itself in the Middle East alongside the US, China could see a greater benefit in ending the war in Ukraine. Chin, Russia and Iran do not as much form an alliance because of being great friends. They share an alliance because they all have the same opponent, the US and its client states.
So “if Europe caves to the bully, joins the side that is actively supporting its enemy that invaded a sovereign country, maybe China will see a benefit and do something countrary to their interest and work towards peace in Ukraine”. Have you even thought how your post sounds? If it is beneficial to keep the war in Ukraine going, why would they “switch sides”? The US would still be “bogged down” in Ukraine even if the EU started better relations with China. So either we would totally need to cut off Ukraine (in which case Russia wins) or China would magically do something that’s completely stupid from their POV.
Europe support the biggest bullies israel and the usa. China and russia are also bullies. We need to be consistant
“whatabout”.
Whataboutism would be deflecting from Russian and China bullying. I am just being consistant and exposing you hypocrites
Nope, you are “just” whatabouting.
No, i am being consistent and exposing your hypocrisy
China benefits from the Ukraine war because it weakens the US. If the EU was to dislodge itself from the US that would be a far greater benefit for China. Also China has its own conflicts with Russia in central Asia.
China is not the one “bullying” the EU here. The EU is being bullied by the US and Russia. Trump is already showing that the US is not really interested in Ukraine as much, unless it gets its money back in resources. What China doesn’t want is the US and Russia joining sides and the EU tagging along as it lacks proper independent foreign policy. China also doesn’t want Russia to win as this would strengthen Russia militarily and embolden it in Central Asia as well as compel countries in Africa to seek more relationships with Russia than with China.
I think you perceive the countries opposed to US hegemony as far more monolithic as you are used to the EU countries practically always falling in line with the demands of Washington. But the relationships between the countries outside that bloc are far more ambiguous.
“EU dislodging itself” would be better, but US being bogged down in Ukraine would still be good. So why would they help Ukraine in that case? Or are you suggesting we abandon Ukraine?
China is absolutely bullying the EU. Otherwise they wouldn’t be supporting the greatest threat to the EU.
It is a transaction. If China exerts pressure on Russia to end the war it gets better relations with the EU and the EU limiting its military involvement with the US in return.
This also wouldn’t be abandoning Ukraine. As it stands Ukraine is being used to do the attrition of the Russian military for the West. Meanwhile the US already lays claim to Ukraines natural resources and the EU countries will probably follow suit. The longer the war goes, the less basis will be left for Ukraine to maintain sovereignty. If the war continues another year or two, Ukraine will either become a puppet of Russia, or a puppet of the US, with the EU asking to be allowed to play the strings every now and then.
Or alternatively the EU would need to go to all out war against Russia, with all the consequences of it. That might save Ukraine relatively speaking, or it might annihilate Ukraine completely as it will be the main battlefield.
The current status quo represents a slow abandoning of Ukraine.
So “abandon Ukraine and your other long term allies in favour of China, for no reason”, got it.