BEIJING: China voiced the firm opposition to the hypocritical moves by the US on the Ukraine crisis by enacting massive aid bills for Ukraine while making baseless accusations against the normal trade between China and Russia, which will also be one of the major issues to be discussed during the upcoming visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.
Blinken is expected to “raise US concerns Beijing is helping Russia build up its defense industrial base to fight the war in Ukraine,” Reuters reported recently, citing US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
The US official accused China of supplying Russia with everything from chips to cruise missile engines to help rebuild its industrial base, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
“On one hand, the US enacts massive aid bills for Ukraine, and on the other, it makes baseless accusations against the normal economic and trade interactions between China and Russia, which is extremely hypocritical and irresponsible. China resolutely opposes this,” Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a press conference on Tuesday.
On the issue of Ukraine, China has always maintained an objective and fair stance, actively advocating for peace and promoting a political solution. China consistently controls the export of dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations, Wang said.
China is not the creator or a party to the Ukraine crisis, does not add fuel to the fire, does not take advantage of the situation for gain, and does not accept blame shifting, the spokesperson noted.
China has the right to engage in normal economic and trade interactions with all countries in the world, including Russia, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, a right that should not be interfered with or undermined, Wang said.
“China’s legitimate rights and interests must not be violated,” he said, advising the US that fanning the flames or shifting blame is not the correct way to resolve the issue in Ukraine.
The only right choice is to take into account the reasonable security concerns of all parties and to establish a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security framework through dialogue and negotiation, he said.
The US is drafting sanctions that threatened to cut some Chinese banks or from the global financial systems, which some US officials said will help stop China’s commercial support of Russia’s military production, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
“We strongly oppose the hypocritical behavior of the US, which fans the flames itself yet shifts the blame onto China,” Wang said.
China’s right to engage in normal economic and trade interactions with all countries, including Russia, must not be violated. We will resolutely defend our legitimate rights and interests, the spokesperson stressed.
When asked about what is the best case scenario result of the Blinken’s visit to China given the tensions in the China-US relations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said this visit is part of implementing the consensus reached between the heads of state at the San Francisco meeting, maintaining dialogue, managing differences, advancing cooperation, and strengthening coordination on international affairs.
Both China and the US will discuss the implementation of the important items of consensus reached during the San Francisco meeting and recent calls between the heads of state, and exchange views on China-US relations and international and regional issues of mutual concern, Wang said.
Ahead of the upcoming visit, a senior official from China’s Foreign Ministry highlighted the five major targets that China is focusing on during this visit, making solemn representations and demands on matters such as the Taiwan question, trade and technology restrictions and the South China Sea issue.
The Chinese official stressed that the US’ launch of a new 301 investigation out of domestic political considerations is a mistake repeated.
We urge the U.S. side to genuinely comply with WTO rules, to remove all additional tariffs imposed on China and not to increase them further. China will take all necessary measures to defend its own rights and interests, Wang said.
