a la pregunta "Ucraïna"?, Xina respon "Taiwan"! (o sia, la 3ª Guerra Mundial)

PEACEMAKING WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS

‘VLAD TOLD US NOTHING’: Vladimir Putin didn’t tell China he was going to wage war on Ukraine. That’s the remarkable message from China’s Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang, who became the first Chinese official to admit that Beijing had no “prior knowledge of Russia’s military action.” In effect, that means China signed a new partnership agreement with Kremlin just weeks before the war started, without full knowledge of what was to happen. “Assertions that China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported this war are purely disinformation … Had China known about the imminent crisis, we would have tried our best to prevent it,” Qin wrote in the Washington Post on Tuesday.

Really?: Perhaps China’s top envoy to Washington simply missed all the U.S. officials and international media being very clear about this imminent war in the months and weeks leading up to its outbreak? That must be it.

STILL, CHINA’S PLAYING PUTIN’S GOOD COP: Initial confusion in China’s messaging on the war/invasion/conflict has given way to more strategic clarity this week, diplomats say.

On the line: According to several phone calls Foreign Minister Wang Yi made with his European counterparts over the last week, Wang expressed China’s wish to see the end to the bloodshed in Ukraine — while trying to talk Europe into ending its diplomatic and economic isolation of Russia.

European security (with Chinese participation?): Wang consistently asked the Europeans to “sit down and talk” with Russia for a long-term security mechanism. He repeatedly mentioned Moscow’s favorite catchphrase — “indivisible security” — which for the Kremlin means a veto on future NATO membership and a vastly demilitarized Europe. “China seems keen to have a say on future Europe-Russia talks,” a seasoned observer noted.

Read this: Chinese state media talked to experts who advised Europe cut ties with the U.S. and NATO, work out a deal with Russia and achieve win-win and peaceful co-existence with Moscow. Here’s that particular masterpiece.

Not a warring party: Wang was also distancing China from U.S. suggestions that it might be considering Russian requests for military assistance. “China is not a party to the [Ukraine] crisis,” the Chinese foreign minister told his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares. “Some forces have kept smearing China on the Ukraine issue … and fabricated all sorts of disinformation.” The foreign ministry’s chief spokesperson, Hua Chunying, went even further: “Some US official alleged that China would provide weapons for Russia. This is a ludicrous suggestion and a humiliation to Russia.”

ON THE UKRAINIAN BORDER: Two Chinese men were accused of trying to smuggle undocumented Ukrainian babies out of the country, when they were found at the border with Romania, the Ukrainian border guard said on its website.

US-CHINA MEETING IN ROME: Politburo member Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat, went to Rome earlier this week for a seven-hour meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. This was the first direct contact between top Chinese and American officials since the war broke out.

Chinese media portrayal: “U.S. fails to trap China over Ukraine at Yang-Sullivan meeting,” read a Global Times headline. “Sullivan took yet another lecture,” Shen Yi, a Fudan University professor in international politics, wrote on nationalistic news site Guancha.

NATO’S WATCHING: “China should join the rest of the world in condemning strongly the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. “We are closely monitoring any signs of support from China to Russia.”

KREMLIN WANTS PARTNERSHIP: “I think that our partnership with China will still allow us to maintain the cooperation that we have achieved, and not only maintain, but also increase it in an environment where Western markets are closing,” Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Sunday. 

UKRAINE vs TAIWAN: The more Western officials try to get China to publicly support Ukraine’s sovereignty, the more Beijing senses it’s time to talk about Taiwan. According to the Chinese readout, when Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra had a call with China’s Wang on Wednesday, he said: “All countries should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries.” Wang then intervened: “This is precisely the traditional position that China has always adhered to, and China hopes that the Netherlands’ deeds would match its words on China’s Taiwan question, instead of applying double standards.”

War on Taiwan? Think twice: “For the Chinese president, the war in Europe is playing out like a cautionary tale. The use of brutal military force in the 21st century, he won’t have failed to notice, comes with considerable risk,” David Zweig, professor emeritus at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, wrote in an opinion article for POLITICO.

17-III-22