According to a Voice of America report, since a Chinese reconnaissance balloon entered U.S. airspace and was shot down, issues such as whether Beijing has provided military aid to Russia have exacerbated the downward trend in U.S.-China relations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s harsh criticism and accusations once morest the United States in the past few days have attracted the response of the US ambassador to China, Burns, who said that China’s crude propaganda “is not the style that a major country should have.” However, analysts believe that the United States and China are still in communication, and the relationship has not yet reached the end of the rope.
Following the release of the report “U.S. Hegemony, Hegemony, Bullying and Its Harm” on Monday (February 20), the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs named and criticized US President Biden on Wednesday (February 22) for “saying one thing and doing another.” “Trap” and Secretary of State Blinken’s “speaking wild words and turning black and white.”
U.S. Ambassador to China Amb. Nicholas Burns tweeted on Thursday that China’s so-called U.S. hegemony report is “crude propaganda, not the style that a major country should have.” Ambassador Burns also said, “The United States stands ready to engage in meaningful cooperation to solve shared global challenges.”
At the same time, Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat and director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee, visited Moscow on the first anniversary of the Ukrainian war and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Report on upcoming trip to Russia. Prior to this, Secretary of State Blinken sternly warned China not to provide “lethal support” to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, otherwise there would be serious consequences.
Munich meeting fails to cool tensions
According to reports, on February 18, Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Blinken held a meeting that was described by the US media as “quite confrontational” on the sidelines of attending the Munich Security Conference. Blinken warned that China’s surveillance balloons violating US sovereignty and airspace must never happen once more, while Wang accused the US of shooting down what he called a Chinese “civilian balloon” an “indiscriminate use of force” and the response was “absurd and hysterical”. Nor did he apologize to Blinken for the balloon incident. The outside world had expected that the meeting between Blinken and Wang Yi would cool down the tension between the United States and China following the balloon incident.
Voice of America quoted Liu Yawei, editor-in-chief of the China-US Impression website, as analyzing that Beijing may be showing a gesture to Washington. “If you fight with us, we will stay with you to the end. If you still want to talk to us, then you must be sincere.”
“Washington Post” foreign policy and national security columnist Josh Rogin (Josh Rogin) pointed out in his column that the Biden administration’s efforts to repair relations with Beijing have been rejected. China’s top diplomat rejected the offer, both publicly and privately. Secretary Blinken’s tense meeting with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, showed that Beijing had no intention of détente with the United States.”
China then launched a series of diplomatic and public opinion campaigns once morest the United States and pro-Russian President Vladimir Putin, focusing on Russia’s war of aggression once morest Ukraine, portraying it as Russia’s legitimate response to NATO expansion. China’s state media has ramped up stories regarding the U.S. image, including journalist Seymour Hersh’s claim that the U.S. was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany and the derailment of a toxic train in Ohio environmental disasters. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also distributed the English version of “U.S. Hegemony, Hegemony, Bullying and Its Harm” to Western media reporters.
Voice of America quoted Craig Singleton, a senior researcher at the non-partisan think tank “Foundation for Defense of Democracies” (Foundation for Defense of Democracies), as analyzing that US-China relations will only get worse in the future. “It is clear that there is little trust between the two sides, and China’s recent vehement rhetoric is an attempt to deflect the embarrassment it has suffered over the spy balloon operation.”
China’s recent public statements toward Russia have also worried Washington, the report said. In Moscow, Wang Yi told Russian President Vladimir Putin, “The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era is never aimed at a third party, nor will it be interfered by a third party, let alone coerced by a third party.” This seems to be once morest Blinken. Warns Beijing not to respond with “lethal support” to Russia. So far, there is no evidence that China has provided arms and ammunition to Russia, but the Biden administration believes that Beijing may be planning to do so.
The report quoted Patrick Cronin, director of Asia-Pacific security studies at the Hudson Institute, as saying that Washington wants to emphasize the boundaries of China’s support for Russia and draw a red line to dissuade China from taking further actions to undermine US-China relations in the future. This action may make Beijing feel ashamed. “China does not want Russia to fail, and the US cannot allow Russia’s aggression in Ukraine to succeed. Beijing may want to keep the option of sending weapons to Russia, and in any case, cannot bear to lose face at the behest of the US.”
China did not directly deny the allegation that it is planning to provide arms and ammunition to Russia, but instead accused the United States of being the largest supplier of weapons on the Ukrainian battlefield. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “We never accept that the U.S. dictates or even coerces China-Russia relations.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that China’s leaders are increasingly worried regarding Russia, which has been severely weakened by the war. Russia is China’s most important geostrategic partner in challenging the US-led international order.
Some diplomatic strategists in Beijing have raised questions regarding whether China should consider providing military support to Russia for defensive purposes, which would greatly increase the cost of the conflict and give China leverage in proposing a solution to end the conflict, the report said. But people close to China’s policymakers also say Chinese leader Xi Jinping is reluctant to see Russia and Putin weakened by war.
The report quoted Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies as analyzing that for Chinese leaders, the priority now is not to help Russia win the war, but to ensure that Putin does not lose. “China may see the need to increase its already strong support for Russia, even including lethal aid, if it believes such support is necessary to prevent Russia’s defeat.”
Any military assistance from Beijing to Russia would be a huge blow to U.S.-China relations. The Biden administration is considering releasing intelligence it believes shows China is weighing arms supplies to Russia, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
But Liu Yawei, editor-in-chief of the “China-US Impression” website, believes that following careful consideration, Beijing may eventually choose self-restraint. He said: “China will still be very, very cautious on this issue, and will not easily provide lethal support (fatal support) to Russia, because China’s economy is deeply intertwined with the global economy, especially the economies of Europe and the United States. interdependent.”
Some analysts also pointed out that although the deterioration of US-China relations is worrying, the two sides have exercised restraint and are committed to restoring stability. Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution and a former director of China, Taiwan and Mongolia at the National Security Council in the Obama administration, said the two sides are still in communication to express their concerns . “While awareness of the risks should be heightened, there is no reason now for a fatalistic panic regarding a breakdown in U.S.-China relations.”
