The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union have taken turns to launch sanctions against Chinese companies on the grounds of Russia-related issues, what are their purposes? How did China respond to the US, UK and the EU's mistaken actions to suppress Chinese companies? What countermeasures are available?
When the persecution of China failed, the United States and the West became angry and began to attack Chinese companies. According to the global network on February 20, the US media broke the news that Biden is considering imposing sanctions on relevant Chinese companies on the grounds of "Sino-Russian cooperation". In fact, the US has long been imposing sanctions on Chinese companies on the grounds of Russia-related concerns. And the United States just got a word out in advance, and the EU has already begun to act. On February 21, local time, when the European Union announced the 13th round of sanctions, it also included Chinese companies in the list, and also threatened that this move would weaken Russia's offensive capabilities. On February 22, the United Kingdom followed suit by announcing sanctions against three Chinese companies, citing their "support for Russia's war against Ukraine."
The United States and Europe. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have taken turns to deal with Chinese companies, in fact, they are telling the Chinese side that they did not listen to the position reiterated by Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the Ukraine issue during the meeting. The three of them shot one after another, apparently colluding in advance. On February 22, U.S. Ambassador to China Burns also cooperated with the United States and the West in this round of sanctions, clamoring that the cooperation between Chinese companies and Russia has strengthened the national defense industry capability. China's political and diplomatic support for Russia has "disappointed" the United States.
Burns's words are inexplicable no matter how you look at them. Biden** openly defined China as a "major strategic threat", and Blinken threatened to insist on doing what China does not like, and now expects China to cooperate with the United States to contain its counter-hegemonic partner Russia, which is very ridiculous in itself.
U.S. Ambassador to China Burns.
This time, the United States, Britain and the European Union are colluding to use the Ukraine issue to target Chinese enterprises, which has three major purposes. First, in order to further hit the Russian economy. As for the effect, the outside world can see it. The United States and Europe have launched several rounds of sanctions against Russia, believing that the Russian economy will collapse as a result. On the contrary, the United States and the West have ignored international rules and imposed unilateral sanctions, which has made countries increasingly disgusted with the United States and the West, especially the hegemony of the dollar. This time, the United States, Britain, and the European Union are "checking and filling in the gaps," and the impact on the Russian economy is destined to be limited.
Second, to show support for Ukraine. On February 24, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be two years old. But to the embarrassment of the United States and the West, with their support, the Ukrainian army not only failed to successfully complete the big **, but also recently suffered a major rout in eastern Ukraine. In addition, the US Congress's stance on aiding Ukraine has been shaken, and the Republican Party is unwilling to continue to strongly support Ukraine. In order to cover up his embarrassment, Biden joined the United Kingdom and the European Union to launch a new round of sanctions against Russia, and also expanded the targets of sanctions, just to create momentum. But these illusory sanctions will not be able to defeat the Russian army. The war on the front line will not be reversed because of the sanctions imposed by the United States and the West. Therefore, this can be regarded as a little comfort to the Kyiv authorities when the United States and the West cannot come up with more practical assistance.
Russia-Ukraine conflict. Third, in order to sow discord between China and Russia. Burns's statement could easily make the outside world mistakenly believe that under the pressure of the United States, China has made a compromise or some kind of commitment on the Ukraine issue. However, in fact, China's position has never changed, and the United States' vain attempt to force China to distance itself from Russia through pressure is completely wishful thinking. The statements made by the United States and the West are aimed at sowing discord and creating a chilling effect on the legitimate cooperation between China and Russia.
Regarding the sanctions imposed by the United States, Britain and the European Union on Chinese enterprises, our embassies abroad have made a clear response, which can be roughly classified into three points. First of all, resolute opposition, which is our most basic attitude. We have always opposed unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the Security Council.
**Spokesperson Mao Ning.
Second, reiterate China's position. The US and the West maliciously distort China's position on the Ukraine issue, and we need to correct it. On the Ukraine issue, we will only stand on the side of fairness and justice to promote peace talks, and will not be like the United States, let alone "hand a knife" to any party. It must be emphasized that this is China's own position, not the result of pressure from either side.
Third, in response to the US sanctions on Chinese companies on the grounds of Russia, Chinese spokesperson Mao Ning made it clear that China has the right to carry out normal cooperation with other countries in the world. The implication is that no matter how much pressure the United States and the West exert on it, the normal cooperation between China and Russia will not be affected, and the outside world should not forcibly link the cooperation between China and Russia with other geopolitical issues.
Sino-Russian relations. Of course, in addition to the necessary diplomatic statements, China will also take resolute measures to defend the legitimate interests of Chinese companies. In recent years, the United States and the West have often launched unwarranted sanctions against Chinese companies for various reasons, and in order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, China has long formulated a mature response system. We can launch necessary counterattacks against the United States and the West in accordance with the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Act and export control measures. Let them realize that the times are different, and the "toolbox" of countermeasures in our hands may not be less than that of the United States and the West.
Last year, China strengthened export controls on gallium, germanium and graphite, and the United States and the West reacted violently. If China plays the "rare earth card" again, they may not be able to withstand it. It is worth mentioning that last year, China updated the Regulations on the Administration of Import and Export of Technology, which includes restrictions or prohibitions on the export of rare earth processing technologies. This means that even if the United States and the West can establish a rare earth ** chain that circumvents China, it will be difficult to bypass China in the processing stage.
Rare earth. In fact, the United States, Britain and the European Union only appear to be united. This time, the EU wanted to include Chinese companies in the list when sanctioning Russia, which was opposed by Germany. Kang Linsong, chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, also said a few days ago that the suppression of China will have a devastating impact on Europe.
The EU should also know that the ultimate goal of the United States pulling the EU to sanction Chinese companies on the grounds of Russia-related is to undermine China-EU cooperation and use the EU to consume China. To put it simply, it wants the EU to rush to the front line of "anti-China" and act as cannon fodder for the United States. However, judging from the recent interactions between Germany and France with China, at least the major powers within the EU do not want to be used by the United States, and still maintain a certain degree of strategic autonomy. Therefore, the "anti-China" front formed by the United States and the United Kingdom and the European Union under the pretext of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is destined to be fragile.