Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, criticized US foreign policy. This is stated in the message of the Chinese diplomatic service.
“The American side openly puts its interests above others, shows selfishness and unilateralism, applies persecution to its extreme extent, are there such powers somewhere? The United States is shifting responsibility, using the epidemic as an excuse to denigrate others, moving arrows and stopping at nothing, even creating hot spots and confrontation in international relations. They have already lost their reason, morality and trust, ”Van I. quotes TASS.
According to him, Washington actually returned to the practice of the McCarthyism era, when supporters of leftist ideas were persecuted.
"The United States in its policy towards China has already restored the infamous McCarthyism and the outdated mentality of the Cold War era, deliberately provoking ideological confrontation, go beyond international law and basic norms of international relations," he stressed.
The minister added that in these conditions, Beijing will protect its interests.
“China will not succumb to the rhythms set by the anti-Chinese forces, which are in the minority in the USA, but will decisively defend their legal rights, interests and dignity,” Wang said
Sanction shaft
Recall that in early July, during the Chinese-American forum, Wang Yi said that China and the United States are now experiencing the most severe crisis in their relations since 1979, when diplomatic relations were established between the countries.
However, the diplomat then assured that China does not seek to challenge the United States and opposes confrontation. Beijing, he said, is aimed at mutually beneficial cooperation. He also expressed hope that a “rational and pragmatic political course” and an objective view of China would prevail in Washington.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting in Munich
- © Vitaliy Belousov / RIA News
According to him, one of the conditions for the restoration of harmonious relations between the two largest economies in the world is the mutual refusal to intervene in internal affairs.
However, on July 9, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, based on the Global Magnitsky Act, imposed sanctions against the public security department of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China for allegedly violating human rights. China responded in a mirror, imposing sanctions against US lawmakers.
In addition, on July 14, Donald Trump signed a bill on new sanctions against the Asian power in connection with the situation in Hong Kong, where protests have not subsided since last year. In particular, he canceled US economic and trade preferences for this region of the PRC.
Official Beijing condemned this move, promising to impose retaliatory sanctions, and also made a serious presentation to the US ambassador to China on this matter.
However, on July 15, the State Department announced a new portion of restrictions on Beijing. They will concern a number of employees of Chinese technology companies involved, according to the United States, in the violation of human rights.
Two days later, the US Treasury announced sanctions against four individuals and one company from China for their alleged involvement in the production and distribution of synthetic opioids.
Against this background, the newspaper The New York Times, citing sources, said that the Trump administration is considering the possibility of establishing a ban on entry into the country of members of the Chinese Communist Party and their families. In addition, the newspaper writes, restriction may extend to trips by representatives of the People's Liberation Army of China and the leadership of state-owned enterprises of the PRC. However, at the moment this information has not received confirmation.
Earlier it was also reported that the United States may prohibit the operation of the popular Chinese TikTok application on its territory. The fact that such an opportunity is being considered, said, in particular, Trump.
The origins of the conflict
Recall to tighten U.S. policy towards China, Trump promised during his 2016 election campaign. Then, the future president of the United States expressed dissatisfaction with the serious imbalance in trade relations between the two countries in favor of China. So, by 2018, he reached, according to US authorities, $ 419.2 billion.
On March 22, 2018, the head of the White House signed a memorandum on combating the economic aggression of China. After that, the United States began to gradually introduce import duties on Chinese products worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Beijing has taken retaliatory steps.
The actions of the American administration led to the fact that under Trump, China lost the status of the main trading partner of the United States: according to statistics, according to the results of 2019, it took third place in this rating, losing to Canada and Mexico.
In addition, last year, Beijing also ceased to be the largest holder of the US public debt, losing first place to Tokyo. Recall that in the volume of investments in US government bonds, China has been a leader since 2008, when the amount of investments reached a record at that time $ 600 billion. At the same time, as of 2020, the PRC still has an impressive volume of treasuries - worth $ 1.08 trillion.
At the same time, China does not plan to refuse to lend to the United States, despite the deterioration in relations between the two countries. According to the Chinese publication Global Times, the reasons for this lie solely in the economic field - Beijing now has no opportunity to withdraw these funds with profit for itself and invest them in other assets.
After several years of difficult negotiations in January 2020, the parties managed to conclude an agreement on the so-called first phase of the trade transaction. Beijing pledged to increase purchases of US products by $ 76.7 billion during the first year of the agreement and $ 123.3 billion during the second.
- Donald Trump
- Reuters
- © Tasos Katopodis
Despite this, Trump's attacks on the PRC in the spring of 2020 only intensified. The cause this time was the coronavirus pandemic. Amid a constantly worsening epidemiological situation in the country, Trump announced that the main culprit in the spread of COVID-19 is China, where the virus was first detected. In addition, Washington criticized the policies of the Chinese authorities in Hong Kong.
"Imperialism is collapsing before our eyes"
Experts predict that increased pressure on the PRC will increase and in the near future Washington is unlikely to deviate from this course.
At the same time, Beijing, for its part, is still trying to avoid deepening confrontation, analysts say.
“Despite the harsh remarks of Wang Yi, in the context of the circumstances, these are rather restrained words. In fact, the permissiveness that we see in the international arena by the United States has truly crossed all reasonable limits. And, of course, this requires an adequate response not only from the countries most affected by this, such as China, Russia or Iran, but also from European states, as well as the world community as a whole, ”said the president of ANO Russian-Russian Federation in an interview with RT Chinese analytical center "Sergey Sanakoev.
In turn, the director of the Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexei Maslov, believes that Beijing is aware of the whole degree of danger that comes from the USA for him.
“We see pretty tough cues. This confirms what many Russian experts talked about before - through negotiations or a bargain, disagreements between the United States and China cannot be resolved. China understands that it is undergoing a massive offensive by the United States. It is not only a matter of economic sanctions. There are attacks on the ideology, social system and foreign policy of China. Chinese diplomacy understands that this is not a special case - it is a system, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.
According to him, China will take retaliatory steps.
“China does not like to get involved in an exchange of accusations. It always acts in a different way: it is the parallel development of trade and the creation of its macroeconomic region. In this regard, China will not simply repel attacks, but will develop its own line of behavior, ”Maslov believes.
- Donald Trump with wife Melania and Xi Jinping with wife Peng Liyuan in China in 2017
- © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
At the same time, the current aggravation of relations between the PRC and the USA speaks not only about economic differences, Sergey Sanakoev believes. As the political scientist believes, it testifies to the general crisis of the unipolar world order, which, in turn, is due to the weakening of the United States.
“The Americans proclaimed themselves hegemonic and are imposing their vision on everyone without regard to international standards. And if someone does not agree, then they are ready to use military force. And it all started before Trump. It is not only a matter of economic disputes between the two countries. But today the US is weakening and therefore begins to behave more aggressively. We see that the unipolar world is coming to an end, ”says the analyst.
Political scientists agree that in the near future, regardless of the outcome of the elections, the US anti-Chinese policy is unlikely to be radically revised.
“I would not exaggerate the significance of the election. Whoever becomes the American president, a systems approach and antagonism will still remain. The USA is the very old imperialism that is crumbling before our eyes. We are witnessing this agony. Therefore, nothing will change, ”said Sanakoev.
In this situation, the expert notes, China needs to develop alternative foreign relations.
“Moscow and Beijing understand each other well. They advocate a multipolar world that will be more equitable, stable, secure and democratic, ”said Sanakoev.
A similar point of view is shared by Alexei Maslov.
“US policy is not only worsening Sino-US relations, but in general it is a serious blow to world trade and stability. Now Russia and China are beginning to develop new parameters of global security, where the US will not be able to play such a destabilizing role, ”the expert concluded.