06.03.2023
Whether China will provide Russian weapons has aroused speculation in Western countries. German Chancellor Scholz said on the 5th that China has stated that it will not provide arms to Russia, seemingly implying that Beijing has privately assured Berlin on this matter.
(Voice of Deutsche Welle Chinese Network) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Olaf Scholz) returned to Germany after his visit to the United States on Sunday (March 5). He said at a press conference jointly held with the European Commission: “We all agree that we should not There have been arms deliveries, and the Chinese government has said they will not provide any weapons.”
“We’re going to stick to that, and we’re monitoring them (the Chinese government),” Scholz added.
The US online media POLITICO pointed out that Scholz’s statement about Beijing is “surprising” because China has not publicly denied the possibility of supplying arms to Russia so far, and Scholz’s remarks seem to imply that Beijing has directly contacted China. Berlin has made relevant guarantees.
On the 5th, CNN also broadcast an exclusive interview with Scholz. If China were to aid Russia, “I think there will be consequences, but what we have to do at this stage is make it clear that this shouldn’t happen, and I’m relatively optimistic that our demands will work,” Scholz told reporters. But we still have to keep watching and be very, very cautious.”
In a statement to the German Bundestag last week, Scholz made his demands on China: “My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to urge Russia to withdraw its troops. Russia provides the weapons!”
It is reported that Josep Borrell, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs, also received similar “private assurances” from Beijing last month. Borelli told the media at the time that Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, had privately told him through sideline talks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany in mid-February that China “would not provide arms to Russia.” But Borelli said: “Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant.”
Will China be sanctioned by the EU if it supplies weapons?
In recent weeks, senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have said that China may supply Russia with lethal weapons to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sparking concern and vigilance among European countries about Beijing.
Reuters reported on the 1st that according to four U.S. officials and other sources, the U.S. is asking its allies about the possibility of imposing sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Moscow, and they are providing these allies with relevant information. Intelligence details.
But at the press conference on the 5th, when asked if Beijing supplies arms to Russia, will the EU support the United States and impose sanctions on China? European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said only that she was not in a position to answer such “hypothetical questions”. She also told reporters that the EU has so far received “no evidence” from the United States that Beijing is considering deadly aid to Moscow, “but we are still watching every day.”
In response to questions from the West, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded at a press conference on the 3rd: “The United States is sending lethal weapons to the Ukrainian battlefield, constantly raising tensions, while spreading false information about China, accusing and discrediting China. .We will never accept coercion and pressure from the US. What the US should do is to ease the situation and promote peace talks, not add fuel to the flames and point fingers at other countries.”
Scholz visited the United States on March 3 and met with US President Joe Biden in Washington.
(POLITICO, CNN, Associated Press, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.)
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