"Wang Yi sent an important signal to China-Russia relations: a remarkable sentence from the Blinken meeting"
After meeting Blinken, in front of more than 120 countries, Wang Yi said a sentence that set the tone for China-Russia relations and sent an unusual signal. What did Wang Yi talk about with Blinken? What was your statement on Sino-Russian relations at the Munich Security Conference?
As we enter 2024, the global security, political and economic situation remains affected by the Ukraine crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Against this backdrop, the United States and Russia have been busy with one thing recently, and that is to engage in exchanges and dialogues with China. At the Munich Security Conference, which opened on February 16, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was invited to hold an in-person meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which was the first meeting between Blinken and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in 2024.
From the official press release issued after the meeting, it can be found that the meeting between the Chinese and US foreign ministers was somewhat "unsatisfactory," and the Chinese side reminded the United States on the two core issues of the Taiwan issue and Sino-US relations that it must be "cautious in words and deeds" and that cooperation between China and the United States should always be better than confrontation and competition. Blinken did not answer Foreign Minister Wang Yi's request head-on, but tried to draw China into the Ukraine crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the Korean Peninsula issue, apparently not wanting China to "stay out of the matter".
However, on the whole, the meeting between the foreign ministers of China and the United States basically met the expected standards, and communication and dialogue will continue. After the meeting with Blinken, Foreign Minister Wang Yi set the tone for China-Russia relations in front of representatives of more than 120 countries around the world at the Munich Security Conference on February 17, that is, "Russia is China's largest neighbor, and the relationship between the two countries is developed on the principle of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of any third party." ”
Some analysts believe that Foreign Minister Wang Yi's remarks not only reassured Russia, but also many countries around the world. One is the world's second economy, the other is the world's second largest military power, once the two are united, then the effect will inevitably be one plus one is greater than two, so in recent years, the United States and Western countries have been hyping and exaggerating the "Sino-Russian alliance theory", believing that the alliance between China and Russia will directly impact the old order of international relations and will have a huge impact on the world hegemony of Western countries. It is precisely because of this that the United States and Western countries will try their best to suppress Russia.
In fact, if we analyze the international situation in the past 20 years, we can find that the relationship between Russia and the West has always been "complicated". Until 2004, Russia wanted to embrace the West and take the opportunity to integrate into it, and it paid a lot of price for this. However, after the United States deployed a missile defense system in Eastern Europe in 2004, Russia finally saw the reality clearly, gave up its illusions about the West, and began to fight wits and courage with the West.
Ten years later, in 2014, the Crimean crisis completely deteriorated relations between Russia and the West, and the Ukraine crisis that broke out in 2022 completely tore Russia and the West apart. After parting ways with the West, Russia has chosen the development path of "leaving Europe and joining Asia", that is, to achieve Russia's rejuvenation and rise by strengthening cooperation ties with China.
Although China and other developing countries do not approve of Russia's military action to break the deadlock, they also call on the international community to pay attention to Russia's security demands. What is the essence of this Ukrainian crisis, the United States and Western countries know better than anyone else. Therefore, China has been actively promoting peace talks, and through its influence and efforts, the two sides can achieve a ceasefire and stop hostilities.
Of course, China's response to the accusations and criticisms of the United States and Western countries about the so-called "taking sides" is also very simple: China will not stand on either side, China will only stand on the side of justice and fairness. In fact, this viewpoint is also a disguised reminder to the United States not to always try to fan the flames and make things happen. China and Russia will not form an alliance, but they will become an important pillar for maintaining world peace and stability and a core force in opposing hegemonism and power politics.