China’s foreign minister accuses the US
China’s top foreign affairs official has accused the US of trying to clamp down on China and vowed to deepen ties with Russia, as Beijing continues to assert the importance of what it calls a “multipolar” world order.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi has accused the United States of imposing sanctions on Chinese companies at a “bewildering” and “unfathomable” level, citing Beijing’s opposition to “unilateralism and protectionism”. complaints that have recently become buzzwords in China’s official statements.
Relationship with Russia
Speaking on Thursday, The Guardian highlights, Wang said that the relationship between China and the United States was “critical”, but that it was the relationship with Russia that would be deepened and strengthened in the coming months. Wang praised the “strategic guidance” of China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin for strengthening the relationship, with bilateral trade reaching a record $240 billion a year past Wang noted that Russian natural gas was powering Chinese homes, while Chinese automobiles were driving on Russian roads.
Gas exports from Russia to China
Russia’s gas exports to China have increased since the start of the war in Ukraine, helping it bear the economic fallout caused by falling shipments to Europe due to sanctions. China sold more than 841,000 vehicles to Russia last year, making it the top export market for Chinese automakers. Total exports to Russia increased by 54% compared to 2022, the same newspaper insists.
Relations between the United States and China
Meanwhile, Wang has accused the United States of reneging on its promises and said it was “obsessed” with cracking down on China. Wang emphasized the importance of mutual respect. “It is unacceptable that certain countries are at the table while others are on the menu,” he said.
Relations between the United States and China have thawed slightly since Xi met with President Joe Biden in November, The Guardian recalls. Wang noted that Biden had promised not to support Taiwan’s independence, adding that countries that did so would “get burned for playing with fire.”
The relationship between China and Russia
At his annual press conference, Wang spoke about the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as China’s relationship with Europe. Throughout, he has emphasized the “tendency” towards a multipolar world, a world which, according to Beijing, is no longer dominated by the hegemony of Washington.
This has been an important part of the borderless friendship that China and Russia declared in February 2022, shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has supported Moscow diplomatically and economically since the invasion, to the frustration of Western leaders. “The China-Russia relationship is moving forward following the trend of multi-polarity,” Wang said.
