(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The statement that “China and Russia are not allies” came from Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States. On July 21, when Qin Gang attended the Aspen Strategic Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado, he said that the outside world had a “misunderstanding” of Sino-Russian relations.
This year’s Aspen Strategic Security Forum was attended by more than 400 people from all walks of life, including the U.S. government, strategic circles, think tanks, diplomatic corps, and non-governmental organizations. Topics include the war in Ukraine, U.S.-China relations and the volatile security situation around the world. Among them, Sino-Russian relations are one of the focuses of the open dialogue between Luce, the editor-in-chief of the US edition of the Financial Times, and Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States. In the opening question about whether China and the United States have entered a “new Cold War”, Qin Gang said: “The Cold War is a tragedy in world history, synonymous with estrangement and confrontation and conflict. People worry that the history of the Cold War will repeat itself because some people hold the Cold War mentality. It is wrong to see China as the former Soviet Union and China as a threat. But China is not the former Soviet Union, and the CCP is not the CPSU.”
Qin Gang pointed out that the Sino-Russian joint statement issued at the beginning of this year focused on expounding the common positions of China and Russia in terms of democracy, development, security and order. Confrontation, advocates promoting the democratization of international relations, advocates maintaining the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and practicing multilateralism. In this regard, China’s cooperation with any country can have no limits and no restricted areas. If the US is willing to make joint efforts with China, China “certainly welcomes it”.
Propose the consequences of “not capping” Sino-Russian relations
From February 4th to 5th this year, when the International Olympic Games kicked off in China, it was less than 20 days before Russia launched a war of aggression against Ukraine. The Chinese President and the visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Sino-Russian Joint Statement on International Relations and Global Sustainable Development in the New Era. Le Yucheng, then Vice Foreign Minister, said at the time: “There is no ceiling on Sino-Russian relations, there is no terminal, only gas stations”, which aroused strong attention from the international community. Many analysts believe that this clearly demonstrates the alliance between China and Russia. However, it is worth noting that the Chinese high-level officials did not extend the use of this Russian diplomatic “veteran” who has nearly 40 years of experience in the diplomatic field and was stationed in the Soviet Union and Russia for many years, but transferred him to the country in mid-June. Deputy Director General of the State Administration of Radio and Television.
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the relevant Chinese official statement seems to be betting on both red and black in the roulette game, and strives not to be a “loser” style. While emphasizing support for Ukraine in maintaining its territorial integrity, it also firmly emphasizes that Russia’s legitimate security concerns must be taken seriously. On March 15 this year, Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, published a signed article in the Washington Post, expounding “Our Position on the Ukraine Issue”, saying, “China’s attitude is objective and fair: it abides by the purposes of the United Nations Charter and principles, respect and safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, accommodate the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and support all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful resolution of the crisis.” The statement made on the day the war broke out highlighted a different focus. At that time, Hua Chunying’s statement paid more attention to Russia’s position, claiming: “The security of all countries should be common, cooperative and sustainable security, and the reasonable security concerns of all parties should be respected and resolved. .”
Qin Gang’s “China-Russia Non-Alignment” Announcement
Qin Gang, Chinese ambassador to the United States, said in a signed article titled “After the Ukraine Crisis” in the American magazine National Interest in April this year: Although Sino-Russian relations have made great progress in the past 30 years, “there is no alliance and no confrontation.” , the nature of not targeting third parties has not changed. China was and will be an independent and independent power, and has always insisted on making judgments and deciding positions based on the right and wrong of the matter, and will not be disturbed by any external pressure.” On the issue of military operations against Ukraine and China’s military assistance to Russia, Qin Gang stated at the time that these were “all false information”. An incident similar to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict “if it happened in other places or between other countries, China would also take the same position today.” This is consistent with his previous statement in the signed article of the “Washington Post”, when Qin Gang said: “I would like to tell you responsibly that the so-called China’s prior knowledge, ‘acquiescence’, and ‘condoning’ claims are completely false information, intended to shirk responsibility and smear China. There are more than 6,000 Chinese citizens living and studying in Ukraine. , Uzbekistan’s largest trading partner, and the world‘s largest importer of crude oil and natural gas. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine will not benefit China at all. It is impossible for China to not dissuade it without knowing it.”
As a pivotal figure in China’s diplomacy, Qin Gang’s latest remarks at the Aspen Strategic Security Forum tried to give the impression that China’s diplomacy continued to be patient and “hide its strengths and bide its time.” The US political news website Politico said in an article on this: “China’s ambassador to the United States is trying to retract his country’s declaration of an ‘uncapped’ partnership with Russia.” And made it clear that Russia and China jointly rejected the “Cold War crisis” and were not interested in “confrontation”. But at the same time, Qin Gang still refuses to call Russia’s actions in Ukraine an “invasion”, calling it a “crisis” instead.
(Politico, the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, The National Interest, etc.)
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