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“China’s silence on the existential issue of Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence is deafening,” US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said last week. The aid to Russia is truly alarming. ”
Burns is right. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to control Ukraine and the Baltic states because he believes they belong to Russia. But by supporting Russia with a massive increase in imports, which now account for half of Russia’s lucrative oil exports, China is financing Russia’s war of aggression. This support highlights the hollow nature of the Chinese Communist Party’s claims that it views territorial integrity as a sacred concern.
One of the main reasons why China can escape duplicity is that the European Union does not hold China accountable. Last week, the EU announced a major deal to impose new sanctions on some Chinese companies that help Russia evade sanctions. But the EU knows that these sanctions are just a drop in a vast ocean. Much, much more could be done to change Beijing’s calculations regarding Ukraine.
China’s economy faces a variety of systemic challenges and is in dire need of new growth. Given that the EU ran a $429 billion trade deficit with China in 2022 (the last year I could find complete figures), the EU has untapped leverage to wield. Much remains. Indeed, the EU could force China to significantly reduce its trade with Russia if it so wishes. The EU might say, “Either that, or we’ll put tariffs on your exports and start buying from other low-cost exporters instead.” But with French President Emmanuel Macron portraying the conflict as an existential issue for the EU, which is lecturing the US on the need to do more for Ukraine, China, which directly supported the war, I’m not going to punish you!
We recently had a great example of this tolerance against Chinese aggression. This was conveyed through the attendance of Chinese foreign policy chief Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference. Mr. Wang was asked by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s former foreign policy guru why China continues to trade so much money with Russia if it is truly serious about protecting its inviolability. When Wang shamelessly dodged the question, the interviewer, Christoph Heusgen, simply carried on. Beijing has learned that in meeting the EU’s challenges, it only needs to respond with a change of direction and renewed efforts to divide the political alliance. China views Europe’s dissatisfaction with Beijing’s support for Russia as just “hot air”.
But the split point is also important. Because the EU requires the consent of all member states when enacting strong foreign policy, China is exploiting the divided interests of each member state to its own advantage. Some players, like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, are simply bought. Other countries, including Germany, have been exploited and boxed in in various ways, either promised access to car exports or threatened with restrictions. In fact, Mr. Heusgen hilariously proved as much by pleading with Mr. Wang to ease regulations on German automakers. Challenges from other EU powers such as France have been postponed due to expectations of Chinese direct investment and political caution. As a result, the EU is either unwilling or unable to mount any serious policy response to what China is actually doing to Europe. This is once again fomenting a war that will tear to shreds the sacred principles of the European project of peace and democratic sovereignty. on the European continent. And this is entirely separate from other threat considerations, such as China’s rampant espionage and political interference in Europe.
The EU’s inability to confront China effectively proves two things. Firstly, Macron’s narrative of “strategic autonomy” of a Europe able to influence its will on the world is powerless, and secondly, concerns about European foreign policy are ultimately The reality is that it is possible to acquire Stop trading.
Click here to read the full Washington Examiner article
Some EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are aiming to improve the situation. However, they encountered many obstacles. Ms von der Leyen had to deal with European Council President Charles Michel. While serving as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2014 to 2019, he Michelle was the poster boy. For European freeloaders within NATO. Now, Michel is helping Chinese leader Xi Jinping water down EU actions that would impose certain costs for China’s duplicity. For example, the EU’s much-vaunted tool to prevent China from singling out certain EU member states from trade threats or retaliation has been repeatedly postponed.
This should not mean that the US will ignore Ukraine’s plight in protest of the EU’s acceptance of China’s war support. of course not. But the EU’s deep hypocrisy is at least noteworthy.
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