Beijing refuses to be affected by the international sanctions that have been piling up against the Russian regime since the start of the offensive in Ukraine on February 24.
After twenty days of a brutal war waged by its Russian ally in Ukraine, is the Chinese balancing act coming to an end? This could be suggested by comments by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday. “China is not a party to the crisis. [ukrainienne] and wants even less to be affected by the sanctions,” declared the head of diplomacy during a telephone conversation with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares. Comments reported in the wake of the new China agency.
According to the Chinese official, the Asian giant “always opposes the use of sanctions to solve problems, especially unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law”. And within this diplomatic-commercial framework, “China has the right to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests”he estimated.
The US government has leaked the call that Moscow would have made to Beijing to beg for both military equipment (drones in particular) and economic support. A way of asking China to face up to its responsibilities, while in Ukraine, Russia is stepping up its offensive, at the already considerable human and material cost.
Since February 24, China has abstained in two votes at the UN. She did not condemn the Russian invasion, highlighted the “legitimate concerns” of Moscow in matters of security, celebrated its friendship “solid as a rock” with Russia, while saying “deeply regret” the situation in Ukraine.
Beijing is torn between interests “fundamentally irreconcilable”, said Evan Feigenbaum, Asia specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The first is its strategic partnership with Russia. The second relates to the fundamental principles of Chinese foreign policy, which are sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs. And the third is the desire not to become collateral damage of American and European sanctions,” details the former diplomat in Release.