China works for peace in Ukraine, while continuing to attack the United States and threaten Taiwan. In Munich, on the second day of the security conference, the head of diplomacy of the Communist Party of China Wang Yi brings a controversial message, which has made everyone stand up: “The war in Ukraine must end”. A message received with extreme caution by Washington. Beijing – an ally of Moscow but from the beginning reluctant to embrace Vladimir Putin’s move – seems to have decided to make its influence weigh and announces that it will propose its own initiative to overcome the crisis that is taking the world back to the times of the cold war.
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And warns China, consequences if it supports Russia (ANSA)
The British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, in fact underlined how so far “the international community’s response to Russian aggression has not been strong enough”, hinting at a possible step forward in this direction. Even if at the G7 meeting, on the sidelines of the Conference, jets “were not talked about concretely”, reported Antonio Tajani, after meeting Kuleba face to face to reassure him of the “never changed” Italian position alongside Kiev.
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‘Why exercise your right to defense’ (ANSA)
And while we await President Xi Jinping’s speech in view of the anniversary of the Russian invasion, his envoy in Munich clarified: “We are on the side of dialogue, peace must have a chance”, also because “an nuclear disaster”. However, the tone is much less conciliatory with the United States: “They had an absurd and hysterical, unacceptable reaction to the balls”, thundered Wang, accusing Washington of “dishonesty” and “abuse”. And of “100% protectionism, 100% selfishness, 100% unilateral action” regarding export restrictions on semiconductors manufactured by Chinese companies. According to the Beijing envoy, Washington is trying to “slander” the Asian giant by choosing him. And when Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger asked if he could reassure the great hall of the Bayrischer Hof that an attack on Taiwan is not imminent, Wang Yi replied: “I can assure this audience that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory. Not it has never been an autonomous state and will not be in the future. It is not China that wants to change this status quo, but separatist forces in Taiwan. We must work against separatism”. “We reiterate how important it is to maintain territorial integrity and sovereignty”, he said in reference to Ukraine, warning however that “this must also apply to China, and that there are no double standards”. For Beijing, he insisted, the Americans have “a wrong perception of China” and are conditioning their allies. “We want the world to be a safer place and we work for peace”, he commented.
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Thus the British premier in his speech scheduled for today in Munich, as anticipated by a note from Downing Street. Foreign Minister Tajani arrives at the Conference. Zelensky: ‘Russian Goliath can lose within the year’. Macron: ‘Putin will not fall, ready for a long war’. Eleven ships in the Black Sea, Moscow prepares to attack. Scholz: ‘Whoever can send tanks to Kiev should do so now’. Biden-Meloni phone call next week (ANSA)
The idea of a Chinese initiative in Ukraine aroused the distrust of Washington, which replied from the same stage with Vice President Kamala Harris: “The United States is concerned by the fact that Beijing has deepened its relations with Moscow since the beginning of the war “, he has declared. “Any move by China to lend lethal support to Russia would only reward aggression, continue killing and further undermine a rules-based order,” she warned. The message was reinforced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Wang in an undisclosed location just outside Munich, warning that “there will be consequences” for China if it provides “material support” to Russia in the war against Ukraine and telling the other party that “cases like that of Beijing’s spy balloon” in the US skies must never occur again. According to the Wall Street Journal, for example, Beijing is continuing to supply Moscow with small commercial drones that end up helping Russian forces in Ukraine. Also for the president of the Defense Commission of the Bundestag, Agnes-Marie Strack-Zimmermann, the Chinese announcement appears as “a story to distract from what is happening in the Indochinese sea”, in Hong Kong as in Taiwan. “Let’s see what exactly the Chinese plan will contain. It is positive that it exists, because China plays an important role vis-à-vis Russia”, commented Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, on the sidelines of the summit, recalling that “Italy has asked China to work for peace” during the meetings that Wang had in recent days in Rome with Tajani himself and with the president Sergio Mattarella. “There will also be a document that we will bring to the United Nations next week – he added -. We will see if the two things can be combined”.
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‘We in favor of a just peace’ (ANSA)