The duration of the call between the two presidents, Joe Biden and the Chinese Xi Jinping, lasted about two hours, last Friday, but it is still unclear China’s position on the sanctions imposed on Russia after its decision to invade Ukraine.
An analysis published by the American National Interest magazine warns of the consequences of the Chinese position on Western sanctions imposed on Russia.
The analysis indicates the danger of Saudi Arabia’s move to consider accepting the yuan instead of the dollar for Chinese oil sales. This “may constitute the biggest blow to the petrodollar in recent memory, which could mean the end of three decades of American financial dominance.”
The analysis adds that “China’s brazen contempt for sanctions reveals one of the dangers behind the Western maximum pressure campaign against Moscow.”
He asserts that the unprecedented sanctions regime imposed by Washington – and its threats to punish governments seen as helping Russia – could “stimulate the partial division of the world into two economic blocs”, which is an important and dangerous development that will eventually “weak” West while encouraging rivals.
Therefore, the analysis warns that China’s position is very important, and the United States and Western countries should pay attention to Beijing’s recent actions.
Call to assess the situation
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a news conference Thursday that the call was “an opportunity for President Biden to assess President Xi’s position” on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Psaki noted “the absence of China’s condemnation of what Russia is doing,” stressing Washington’s “deep concerns” about any consensus between Beijing and Moscow.
Says an analysis published by the site The National interest Biden was expected to tell his Chinese counterpart that Beijing would pay a heavy price for supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
China’s statements about the conversation did not mention any of the controversial topics, stressing instead that “conflict and confrontation are in no one’s interest” and declaring the need for “both sides to work for global peace and tranquility.”
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned that “China will be held responsible for any measures it takes to support Russian aggression.”
These “consequences” have not been made public, but are widely believed to involve secondary sanctions against Chinese companies doing business in Russia.
China did not join the West in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Rather, Beijing’s rhetoric focused on urging the two sides to reach a negotiated settlement as soon as possible.
Beijing has explicitly rejected the West’s framing of the invasion as unjustified aggression, instead blaming NATO for pushing relations between Russia and Ukraine to what it called a “breaking point”.
During a recent press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian cited that the US government “was determined to advance NATO’s eastward expansion,” and that “the United States’ decision on NATO’s eastward expansion is directly related to the Ukraine crisis now.” .
The senior Chinese official claimed that the responsibility for the crisis lies not with Russia, but with the West.
“The key to resolving the Ukrainian crisis is in the hands of the United States and NATO,” he said, adding, “We hope that the United States and NATO will be able to reflect on their roles in the Ukrainian crisis. They should seriously take due responsibilities and take real measures to ease the situation, solve the problem and end the problem.” Early conflict in Ukraine.
Li Jian stressed during a press conference on Friday that Beijing will not tolerate “pressure” from Washington over Ukraine.
“The United States is trying to slander China and put pressure on us, which is very irresponsible and will in no way help in resolving the issue. We are against it and we simply cannot accept the US position,” according to the official Russian news website TASS.
He described China’s position on the Ukraine conflict as “objective and fair”, adding that it is guided by China’s “independent judgments”.
‘flourishing’ relationships
The site says that Beijing has shown no interest in reducing its booming trade and investment relationship with Russia.
China signed a package of thirty-year oil and gas deals with Russia in February worth $117.5 billion.
It was revealed earlier in March that Chinese state-allied parties are considering buying stakes in Russian energy and commodity companies.
He said Chinese retail investors, large and small, have responded to the Western sanctions regime not by joining it, but by buying shares in a wide range of Russian market assets.