Political differences between China and U. S. intensifying war is not excluded
2023.02.20 02:02
Political differences between China and U. S. intensifying war is not excluded
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – Last weekend, the U. S. and China went to Germany to try to mend a new divide caused by the controversy over a Chinese balloon. However, a meeting between their top diplomats demonstrated how difficult compromise will be.
In their first meeting since the high-altitude craft traversed the US, China’s State Councilor Wang Yi and Secretary of State Antony Blinken exchanged barbs about everything from the balloon and Taiwan to North Korea and Russia. The top US diplomat also stated that China was considering whether to provide Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine, which would further escalate tensions.
All of this demonstrated that, despite the assertions made by President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden about their desire to maintain ties, neither side appears capable of doing so. Blinken’s decision to postpone a trip to Beijing after the balloon was discovered appeared to make prospects even less likely. Additionally, Biden stated last week that he would meet with Xi to ease tensions, but no date was specified.
Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and former employee of the US State Department and Pentagon, stated, “The relationship is becoming more brittle.” The Russo-Chinese alliance will be strengthened, as will Western perceptions of China as a nefarious international power, if China mirrors the West’s assistance to Ukraine.
The entire world is keeping an eye on it. A prolonged conflict between the world’s two largest economies has prompted warnings and expressions of unwillingness to choose between them by leaders from countries like Brazil and Singapore about the military and economic repercussions.
After Wang stated that the “Cold War mentality is back,” Blinken attempted to provide assurances by stating that the United States is “not looking for a new Cold War.”
The fraught relationship that exists between the United States and China, as well as the sharp rhetoric that surrounded it, demonstrated how tense the relationship is and how willing both parties appear to argue over insignificant matters. China referred to the talks as an “informal contact” and claimed that the two only spoke because the US requested it in its report of the talks.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the administration launched an aggressive counter-messaging campaign. Blinken quickly conducted interviews with domestic Sunday morning shows. He ensured that Americans who turned on their televisions Sunday morning heard the warning about the expanding partnership between China and Russia.
Blinken stated on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that, “We are very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia in its aggression against Ukraine.” And I made it abundantly clear that doing so would have serious repercussions for our relationship.
China’s Wang said that China would present a new peace proposal for Ukraine in the coming days that would be consistent with Xi’s previous efforts, and that the United States had been “finger-pointing” at Russia. After his time in Munich, Wang was scheduled to fly to Moscow to meet with high-ranking Russian officials. Instead, he met with the foreign minister of Ukraine and condemned attacks on nuclear power plants.
Wang stated, “We oppose attacks on nuclear power stations and civilian nuclear facilities.” We must work to prevent nuclear disasters and proliferation.
Despite its accusations of China’s strengthening of ties with Russia, the United States appeared unwilling to consider that strategy. China had been warned by the United States for months not to give President Vladimir Putin any more support.
On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Fiona Hill, stated, “underscores that we’re going to have to really up our diplomatic game.” What the world heard from Blinken regarding China’s role Many other nations simply do not accept that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine poses as significant a problem.
In a speech earlier on Saturday, Wang lashed out at the United States, describing Biden’s decision to shoot down the balloon over American airspace and the increased state of alert as “incomprehensible and almost hysterical.” This caught Blinken off guard.
China’s People’s Liberation Army was tasked with overseeing a fleet of spies, according to the United States. China responded by claiming that the aircraft was just a benign weather balloon that had blown off course and that the United States had flown similar airships over China. The White House has denied both of these claims.
It’s not clear if the latest argument on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference was a healthy way for them to vent that they can now get over, or if it was just another sign that the US and China are still stuck in a vicious cycle of criticism that will only bring them closer to conflict.
Climate change and nuclear proliferation are two examples of areas where cooperation between the two sides would be beneficial.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a readout of the meeting that Blinken had criticized North Korea’s latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and “emphasized the need for responsible powers to respond to such significant international challenges.” This was diplomatic language for the US demand that China use its influence to stop such launches.
Henry Wang Huiyao, who established the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization as a policy research organization, stated, “A meeting is always better than nothing.” Both sides appeared to be tough because they both have to appeal to domestic audiences.
