“Whoever hung the bell on the tiger must take it away. » If we follow the logic of this colorful expression, appearing in the Chinese press release published on Friday March 18 at the end of the interview between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, Beijing is cultivating its ambiguity in the face of the war in Ukraine. The tiger is Russia, but its tamer – of course, the United States – would bear the blame for its wrath. It’s up to him to find a solution. Exactly the opposite of what Westerners think, but also a large part of the member countries of the UN.
Beyond this formula, the press release issued by Beijing gives an idea of Chinese priorities. He begins with a long passage on bilateral relations, emphasizing that Joe Biden reiterated his desire not to arouse “a new cold war” with China, nor to foment alliances against it, and even less to support the independence of Taiwan. For its part, in a very brief press release, the White House confirms that its policy on Taiwan remains the same and that it “continues to oppose any unilateral change to the status quo.”
For China, Taiwan is a bigger issue than Ukraine. On this question depends its relationship with the United States. “Mismanagement of the Taiwan issue will have a disruptive impact on the bilateral relationship,” warns the Chinese press release. A sign of the importance of this issue, two warships, an American and a Chinese, sailed in the Taiwan Strait on Friday, a few hours before the meeting. “The war in Ukraine makes an intervention in Taiwan militarily, economically and politically more complicated”, said Evan Medeiros, a specialist in Sino-American relations at Georgetown University in Washington.
The speed with which South Korea, Japan and Australia have adopted sanctions against Russia is a clear signal sent to China. On the other hand, Beijing cannot dissociate itself from Moscow, its only possible support for the Security Council in the event of an invasion of Taiwan. And on a personal level, Xi Jinping can hardly, a few months before the Communist Party Congress, distance himself from Vladimir Putin with whom he has just concluded a “limitless strategic partnership”.
China, “opposed to war”
With regard to the current conflict in Ukraine, China reiterates its – lip service – to international law and says it is “opposed to war”. There is no official question of any military support for Russia, mentioned insistently in Washington. The photo of a long military convoy taken in the north of China in the direction of Russia which circulated on Twitter on Friday would be a “fake” according to the Chinese administration. It would date from 2021.
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“Whoever hung the bell on the tiger must take it away. » If we follow the logic of this colorful expression, appearing in the Chinese press release published on Friday March 18 at the end of the interview between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, Beijing is cultivating its ambiguity in the face of the war in Ukraine. The tiger is Russia, but its tamer – of course, the United States – would bear the blame for its wrath. It’s up to him to find a solution. Exactly the opposite of what Westerners think, but also a large part of the member countries of the UN.
Beyond this formula, the press release issued by Beijing gives an idea of Chinese priorities. He begins with a long passage on bilateral relations, emphasizing that Joe Biden reiterated his desire not to arouse “a new cold war” with China, nor to foment alliances against it, and even less to support the independence of Taiwan. For its part, in a very brief press release, the White House confirms that its policy on Taiwan remains the same and that it “continues to oppose any unilateral change to the status quo.”
For China, Taiwan is a bigger issue than Ukraine. On this question depends its relationship with the United States. “Mismanagement of the Taiwan issue will have a disruptive impact on the bilateral relationship,” warns the Chinese press release. A sign of the importance of this issue, two warships, an American and a Chinese, sailed in the Taiwan Strait on Friday, a few hours before the meeting. “The war in Ukraine makes an intervention in Taiwan militarily, economically and politically more complicated”, said Evan Medeiros, a specialist in Sino-American relations at Georgetown University in Washington.
The speed with which South Korea, Japan and Australia have adopted sanctions against Russia is a clear signal sent to China. On the other hand, Beijing cannot dissociate itself from Moscow, its only possible support for the Security Council in the event of an invasion of Taiwan. And on a personal level, Xi Jinping can hardly, a few months before the Communist Party Congress, distance himself from Vladimir Putin with whom he has just concluded a “limitless strategic partnership”.
China, “opposed to war”
With regard to the current conflict in Ukraine, China reiterates its – lip service – to international law and says it is “opposed to war”. There is no official question of any military support for Russia, mentioned insistently in Washington. The photo of a long military convoy taken in the north of China in the direction of Russia which circulated on Twitter on Friday would be a “fake” according to the Chinese administration. It would date from 2021.
You have 57.73% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.