CMBC
"China refuses to call Russian attack on Ukraine an ‘invasion,’ deflects blame to U.S."
Evelyn Cheng @CHENGEVELYN
PUBLISHED THU, FEB 24 2022
BEIJING — China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson refused to categorize Russia’s attack as an “invasion” during a news conference Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an attack on Ukraine earlier in the day, and explosions in Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine followed.
Ukraine’s military claimed to be engaged in fighting within its borders, and Ukraine President Volodimyr Zelenskyy described the violence as an invasion to destroy the country.
Within hours, leaders from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and beyond condemned the Russian attack.
China’s assistant foreign minister, Hua Chunying, was asked by reporters several times whether she would call Russia’s attacks an invasion but she repeatedly avoided giving a yes or no answer.
In response to one reporter, Hua appeared to express frustration at the question and said, “The U.S. has been fueling the flame, fanning up the flame, how do they want to put out the fire?”
That’s according to an official translation of her Mandarin-language remarks.
Hua said Russia was an “independent major country” that could take its own actions.
She referred repeatedly to Russia’s government statements on Ukraine, such as a claim from Moscow’s Defense Ministry that Russian armed forces do not strike Ukrainian cities.
“China is closely following the development of the situation."
"What you are seeing today is not what we have wished to see,” Hua said.
“We hope all parties can go back to dialogue and negotiation.”
Earlier in the week, Putin formally recognized the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
The U.S. and Europe had attempted to prevent an attack with a series of sanctions on Russian individuals, financial institutions and sovereign debt.
But on Thursday the long-feared Russian invasion of Ukraine began, as explosions were reported in the capital of Kyiv and other cities around the country.
“China is clearly sympathetic to Russian perspectives,” said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, based in Beijing.
“China thinks that it’s the NATO expansion and other threats from the U.S. and NATO” that ultimately prompted Russia to defend “its legitimate interests,” he said.
“In other words, I think China feels Russia feels it is forced to do what it is doing.”
“Because Russia is now receiving wide international condemnation and criticism I think China wants to avoid being seen as part of this axis,” Zhao said.
But “when it comes to public statements China has been very careful,” he said.
“It’s hard for China to openly support this Russian behavior given this implications for China’s own security and China’s relationship with Taiwan.”
Beijing has repeatedly declared it intends to reunify with Taiwan.
The island off the coast of mainland China is democratically self-governed but claimed by the People’s Republic of China.
As tensions brewed earlier in the week, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Ukraine in a phone call Tuesday, according to official statements from both the U.S. and China.
The call followed the closing of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games on Sunday.
Just ahead of the opening ceremony in early February, Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
‘No limits’ on cooperation with Russia
After the meeting, the two leaders issued a lengthy statement that did not mention Ukraine by name, but opposed “further enlargement” of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and said there were “no limits” or “forbidden” areas of cooperation between Russia and China.
Zhao said China is unlikely to make significant changes to its position on Russia but will distance itself from a situation that experts in China previously misread in an environment of tight information control.
Even as recently as Tuesday evening Beijing time, Wang Jisi, president of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies at Peking University, said, “China’s observation of this situation is that Russia’s military action is probably not that imminent as the Americans’ [observation].”
Wang was speaking during a rare trip to the U.S., as part of a livestreamed conversation with Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies China Business and Economics Trustee Chair Scott Kennedy.
“I think strategically China is moving closer to Russia, and China-U.S. relations are deteriorating,” Wang said.
“But it could be a crucial moment for the three countries to readjust their relationship with each other.“
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/china-r ... es-us.html
CHINA
Re: CHINA
THE DENVER GAZETTE
"Jake Sullivan warns of ‘consequences’ if China helps Russia evade sanctions"
Jerry Dunleavy, Washington Examiner
14 MARCH 2022
A top U.S. official warned the Chinese government there would be "consequences" if Beijing helps the Kremlin evade sanctions and said he believes China had at least some insight into Russia's invasion of Ukraine before its launch.
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser for President Joe Biden, said on two Sunday shows that the United States would not just allow Beijing to undermine U.S. and international sanctions against Russia.
While the Pentagon criticizes China for its "at least tacit approval" of Russia's invasion, China has repeatedly sought to lay blame at the feet of the U.S., calling it one of the "culprits of the crisis."
"We have made it clear not just to Beijing but to every country in the world that if they think that they can basically bail Russia out, they can give Russia a workaround to the sanctions that we've imposed, they should have another thing coming, because we will ensure that neither China nor anyone else can compensate Russia for these losses," Sullivan told NBC's Meet the Press.
"I'm not going to lay all of that out in public, but we will communicate that privately to China as we have already done and will continue to do."
Sullivan was asked about consequences for China again.
"We also are watching closely to see the extent to which China actually does provide any form of support, material support or economic support, to Russia," Sullivan said on CNN's State of the Union, adding, "I'm not going to sit here publicly and brandish threats, but what I will tell you is that we are communicating directly, privately to Beijing that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them."
Sullivan also said, "We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country."
When asked if he considers Chinese leader Xi Jinping a co-conspirator with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Sullivan replied, "We believe that China in fact was aware before the invasion took place that Vladimir Putin was planning something."
"They may not have understood the full extent of it, because it's very possible that Putin lied to them the same way that he lied to Europeans and others."
CIA Director William Burns said last week that China was likely "unsettled" by Russia's flawed invasion of Ukraine thus far.
Putin and Xi met at the start of the Olympics in February to announce a broad strategic partnership "without limits" amid Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's border.
Since the full-scale invasion was launched, China has carefully avoided condemning Russia, has placed blame on the U.S., and has joined the Kremlin in spreading what the U.S. says is misinformation about the U.S. working on biological weapons in Ukraine.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Sunday that Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, will meet with Sullivan in Rome on Monday as a follow-up on President Joe Biden's virtual summit with Xi in November.
"They will exchange views on China-US relations and international and regional issues of common concern," Zhao said.
Zhao has already weighed in on the Biden administration's claims that China would be punished if it helps Russia skirt sanctions.
"China firmly opposes any form of unilateral sanctions or long-arm jurisdiction by the U.S."
"When dealing with the Ukraine issue and the relationship with Russia, the U.S. should take seriously China's concerns and not undermine China's rights and interests in any way," Zhao said last week.
"China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals."
The U.S. intelligence community pushed back against Russian claims that the U.S. is running bioweapons labs in Ukraine, calling them part of a Kremlin disinformation campaign.
The Russian government and media outlets have ramped up claims in recent weeks that the U.S. operates bioweapons research facilities in Ukraine, with Chinese diplomats and propaganda outlets amplifying the story.
The U.S. and Ukraine have consistently denied the claims, and Russia has never provided any proof.
The U.S. and Ukraine signed an agreement in 2005 for the Defense Department to assist Ukraine in the "prevention of proliferation of technology, pathogens, and expertise that could be used in the development of biological weapons."
Zhao said Tuesday that "Russia has found during its military operations that the U.S. uses these facilities to conduct bio-military plans."
And he said Thursday that "the international community has had grave concerns about U.S. bio-military activities."
Zhao said to "never forget that there are three fingers pointing back to you when you point fingers at others."
Last week, he repeatedly pointed to Fort Detrick in Maryland.
Russia and China have spread COVID-19 disinformation baselessly claiming that the virus originated with the U.S. military there.
The U.S. has condemned China for its false claims about the origins of SARS-CoV-2.
At least one U.S. spy agency believes a Chinese government lab in Wuhan is the most likely origin for the pandemic.
The heads of the intelligence community and of the CIA both agreed last week that Putin's invasion of Ukraine may give China pause when considering invading Taiwan.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said last week that the Chinese Communist Party remains the "absolutely unparalleled" long-term priority for the U.S. intelligence community.
https://denvergazette.com/news/nation-w ... c0f5a.html
"Jake Sullivan warns of ‘consequences’ if China helps Russia evade sanctions"
Jerry Dunleavy, Washington Examiner
14 MARCH 2022
A top U.S. official warned the Chinese government there would be "consequences" if Beijing helps the Kremlin evade sanctions and said he believes China had at least some insight into Russia's invasion of Ukraine before its launch.
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser for President Joe Biden, said on two Sunday shows that the United States would not just allow Beijing to undermine U.S. and international sanctions against Russia.
While the Pentagon criticizes China for its "at least tacit approval" of Russia's invasion, China has repeatedly sought to lay blame at the feet of the U.S., calling it one of the "culprits of the crisis."
"We have made it clear not just to Beijing but to every country in the world that if they think that they can basically bail Russia out, they can give Russia a workaround to the sanctions that we've imposed, they should have another thing coming, because we will ensure that neither China nor anyone else can compensate Russia for these losses," Sullivan told NBC's Meet the Press.
"I'm not going to lay all of that out in public, but we will communicate that privately to China as we have already done and will continue to do."
Sullivan was asked about consequences for China again.
"We also are watching closely to see the extent to which China actually does provide any form of support, material support or economic support, to Russia," Sullivan said on CNN's State of the Union, adding, "I'm not going to sit here publicly and brandish threats, but what I will tell you is that we are communicating directly, privately to Beijing that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them."
Sullivan also said, "We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country."
When asked if he considers Chinese leader Xi Jinping a co-conspirator with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Sullivan replied, "We believe that China in fact was aware before the invasion took place that Vladimir Putin was planning something."
"They may not have understood the full extent of it, because it's very possible that Putin lied to them the same way that he lied to Europeans and others."
CIA Director William Burns said last week that China was likely "unsettled" by Russia's flawed invasion of Ukraine thus far.
Putin and Xi met at the start of the Olympics in February to announce a broad strategic partnership "without limits" amid Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's border.
Since the full-scale invasion was launched, China has carefully avoided condemning Russia, has placed blame on the U.S., and has joined the Kremlin in spreading what the U.S. says is misinformation about the U.S. working on biological weapons in Ukraine.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Sunday that Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, will meet with Sullivan in Rome on Monday as a follow-up on President Joe Biden's virtual summit with Xi in November.
"They will exchange views on China-US relations and international and regional issues of common concern," Zhao said.
Zhao has already weighed in on the Biden administration's claims that China would be punished if it helps Russia skirt sanctions.
"China firmly opposes any form of unilateral sanctions or long-arm jurisdiction by the U.S."
"When dealing with the Ukraine issue and the relationship with Russia, the U.S. should take seriously China's concerns and not undermine China's rights and interests in any way," Zhao said last week.
"China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals."
The U.S. intelligence community pushed back against Russian claims that the U.S. is running bioweapons labs in Ukraine, calling them part of a Kremlin disinformation campaign.
The Russian government and media outlets have ramped up claims in recent weeks that the U.S. operates bioweapons research facilities in Ukraine, with Chinese diplomats and propaganda outlets amplifying the story.
The U.S. and Ukraine have consistently denied the claims, and Russia has never provided any proof.
The U.S. and Ukraine signed an agreement in 2005 for the Defense Department to assist Ukraine in the "prevention of proliferation of technology, pathogens, and expertise that could be used in the development of biological weapons."
Zhao said Tuesday that "Russia has found during its military operations that the U.S. uses these facilities to conduct bio-military plans."
And he said Thursday that "the international community has had grave concerns about U.S. bio-military activities."
Zhao said to "never forget that there are three fingers pointing back to you when you point fingers at others."
Last week, he repeatedly pointed to Fort Detrick in Maryland.
Russia and China have spread COVID-19 disinformation baselessly claiming that the virus originated with the U.S. military there.
The U.S. has condemned China for its false claims about the origins of SARS-CoV-2.
At least one U.S. spy agency believes a Chinese government lab in Wuhan is the most likely origin for the pandemic.
The heads of the intelligence community and of the CIA both agreed last week that Putin's invasion of Ukraine may give China pause when considering invading Taiwan.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said last week that the Chinese Communist Party remains the "absolutely unparalleled" long-term priority for the U.S. intelligence community.
https://denvergazette.com/news/nation-w ... c0f5a.html
Re: CHINA
BLOOMBERG
"U.S. Threat to Sanction China Is Spooking Other Nations in Asia"
Philip J. Heijmans and Yudith Ho
22 MARCH 2022
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Joe Biden’s warning of unspecified consequences if China supports Russia has smaller Asian nations worried they’ll be subject to similar penalties for maintaining neutrality over Vladimir Putin’s war.
Southeast Asia will host two meetings later this year -- the Group of 20 summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, or APEC -- that would normally bring Biden, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping under one roof.
And the two countries set to host them -- Indonesia and Thailand -- are starting to worry about getting caught in the middle, even though the summits are months away and it isn’t even clear if Putin would turn up.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has privately expressed concern about the U.S. threats of secondary sanctions against China because leaders in Jakarta see Beijing’s stance on the war as neutral, according to a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified.
While Indonesia is planning to welcome Russia to the G-20 summit, the person said, leaders in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy are concerned the U.S. will increase pressure to abandon the country’s non-aligned policy.
Indonesia wants to keep the agenda limited to economic policies, global health and climate change, the person added.
Thailand is also concerned that it will be forced to pick sides if the U.S. and its allies boycott the APEC summit over Russia’s involvement, according to the Nation newspaper.
The report citing the Royal Thai Armed Forces Security Centre -- an intelligence unit of the country’s military -- noted Russia had blacklisted eight APEC members and warned of more sanctions on member economies if the war drags on.
The uncertainty underscores the risk that the war in Ukraine will accelerate fissures in the global economy centered on national security risks over supply chains, advanced technology and the personal data of millions of citizens.
Although the U.S. has yet to specify what business activity with Russia would trigger secondary sanctions, the frequent use of such measures against China in the past few years poses a significant risk for exporting nations reliant on the U.S. and European markets.
“Even before the invasion of Ukraine, the multilateral world order was already under considerable strain from the strategic tensions between the big powers,” Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said during a conference on Tuesday.
“The current crisis will further accentuate these rifts, and pose a grave threat to the international rule of law.”
Russia was expelled from the Group of Eight in 2014 following Putin’s annexation of Crimea, which came after the toppling of Ukraine’s Kremlin-backed leadership.
Still, it would be much harder to boot out Russia from the G-20 or APEC, which have many more members including China, one of Putin’s main diplomatic supporters.
Preparations for the APEC summit in November are still in the early stages, according to Tanee Sangrat, a spokesperson for Thailand’s Foreign Ministry.
“We have not been pressured to keep any topic out of the discussion at the summit this year,” he said when asked about the report.
A Defense Ministry spokesman declined to comment.
Teuku Faizasyah, a spokesman at Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, said he wasn’t in a position to confirm the discussions involving Marsudi while adding that Indonesia hasn’t experienced any such pressure yet.
But, he added, “we are indeed concerned with the prospect of the conflict to divert the G-20’s focus and cooperation away from economy and development.”
‘Tools for Confrontation’
During a call last week with Marsudi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi denounced the use of unilateral sanctions and called on Indonesia to use its G-20 presidency to remove “disruptions.”
He also said the region should prevent “confrontation between blocs” and avoid allowing “small and medium-sized countries to be used as tools for confrontation between major powers,” according to a Chinese statement.
Marsudi simply called the conversation with Wang a “good phone call,” without elaborating.
Indonesia hasn’t directly criticized Moscow even though President Joko Widodo tweeted out “Stop the war” immediately after the invasion, and his government supported a draft United Nations resolution demanding Russia withdraw forces.
While Russia accounts for only a small amount of Indonesia trade, state-owned energy company PT Pertamina has a joint venture with Rosneft to build a $13.5 billion refinery.
Other countries in the region are in a similar predicament.
While Russia made up less than 1% of global trade with Southeast Asia in 2020 and even less in foreign investment, nations may be reluctant to cuts ties with its largest source of arms: Russia accounted for more than a quarter of the region’s weapons in the two decades to 2020.
“A few parties might be circumspect in their criticism of Russia or unable to sever economic ties with Moscow, especially India and Vietnam, who remain overwhelmingly reliant on Russian arms,” said Greg Poling, director of the South-east Asia Programme and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“The administration understands that some partners are in a difficult position on this issue and is unlikely to hammer them for it.”
‘Backfire’
India is the most notable example, relying on Russia for most of its weapons.
While Biden called India’s response to Putin “shaky,” officials in New Delhi are confident they won’t face sanctions because the U.S. still views it as important partner in countering China.
While the threat of U.S. sanctions has prompted Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia and the Philippines to avoid purchasing some Russian military hardware, all the major powers must still tread carefully in dealing with the region, said Ian Storey, senior fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
“Southeast Asian countries are not without agency, and their stances they adopt towards the conflict will be based on their national interests and foreign policy outlooks,” he said.
“Overt pressure from Washington, Beijing or Moscow to pick sides will likely backfire.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u- ... hp&pc=U531
"U.S. Threat to Sanction China Is Spooking Other Nations in Asia"
Philip J. Heijmans and Yudith Ho
22 MARCH 2022
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Joe Biden’s warning of unspecified consequences if China supports Russia has smaller Asian nations worried they’ll be subject to similar penalties for maintaining neutrality over Vladimir Putin’s war.
Southeast Asia will host two meetings later this year -- the Group of 20 summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, or APEC -- that would normally bring Biden, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping under one roof.
And the two countries set to host them -- Indonesia and Thailand -- are starting to worry about getting caught in the middle, even though the summits are months away and it isn’t even clear if Putin would turn up.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has privately expressed concern about the U.S. threats of secondary sanctions against China because leaders in Jakarta see Beijing’s stance on the war as neutral, according to a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified.
While Indonesia is planning to welcome Russia to the G-20 summit, the person said, leaders in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy are concerned the U.S. will increase pressure to abandon the country’s non-aligned policy.
Indonesia wants to keep the agenda limited to economic policies, global health and climate change, the person added.
Thailand is also concerned that it will be forced to pick sides if the U.S. and its allies boycott the APEC summit over Russia’s involvement, according to the Nation newspaper.
The report citing the Royal Thai Armed Forces Security Centre -- an intelligence unit of the country’s military -- noted Russia had blacklisted eight APEC members and warned of more sanctions on member economies if the war drags on.
The uncertainty underscores the risk that the war in Ukraine will accelerate fissures in the global economy centered on national security risks over supply chains, advanced technology and the personal data of millions of citizens.
Although the U.S. has yet to specify what business activity with Russia would trigger secondary sanctions, the frequent use of such measures against China in the past few years poses a significant risk for exporting nations reliant on the U.S. and European markets.
“Even before the invasion of Ukraine, the multilateral world order was already under considerable strain from the strategic tensions between the big powers,” Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said during a conference on Tuesday.
“The current crisis will further accentuate these rifts, and pose a grave threat to the international rule of law.”
Russia was expelled from the Group of Eight in 2014 following Putin’s annexation of Crimea, which came after the toppling of Ukraine’s Kremlin-backed leadership.
Still, it would be much harder to boot out Russia from the G-20 or APEC, which have many more members including China, one of Putin’s main diplomatic supporters.
Preparations for the APEC summit in November are still in the early stages, according to Tanee Sangrat, a spokesperson for Thailand’s Foreign Ministry.
“We have not been pressured to keep any topic out of the discussion at the summit this year,” he said when asked about the report.
A Defense Ministry spokesman declined to comment.
Teuku Faizasyah, a spokesman at Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, said he wasn’t in a position to confirm the discussions involving Marsudi while adding that Indonesia hasn’t experienced any such pressure yet.
But, he added, “we are indeed concerned with the prospect of the conflict to divert the G-20’s focus and cooperation away from economy and development.”
‘Tools for Confrontation’
During a call last week with Marsudi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi denounced the use of unilateral sanctions and called on Indonesia to use its G-20 presidency to remove “disruptions.”
He also said the region should prevent “confrontation between blocs” and avoid allowing “small and medium-sized countries to be used as tools for confrontation between major powers,” according to a Chinese statement.
Marsudi simply called the conversation with Wang a “good phone call,” without elaborating.
Indonesia hasn’t directly criticized Moscow even though President Joko Widodo tweeted out “Stop the war” immediately after the invasion, and his government supported a draft United Nations resolution demanding Russia withdraw forces.
While Russia accounts for only a small amount of Indonesia trade, state-owned energy company PT Pertamina has a joint venture with Rosneft to build a $13.5 billion refinery.
Other countries in the region are in a similar predicament.
While Russia made up less than 1% of global trade with Southeast Asia in 2020 and even less in foreign investment, nations may be reluctant to cuts ties with its largest source of arms: Russia accounted for more than a quarter of the region’s weapons in the two decades to 2020.
“A few parties might be circumspect in their criticism of Russia or unable to sever economic ties with Moscow, especially India and Vietnam, who remain overwhelmingly reliant on Russian arms,” said Greg Poling, director of the South-east Asia Programme and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“The administration understands that some partners are in a difficult position on this issue and is unlikely to hammer them for it.”
‘Backfire’
India is the most notable example, relying on Russia for most of its weapons.
While Biden called India’s response to Putin “shaky,” officials in New Delhi are confident they won’t face sanctions because the U.S. still views it as important partner in countering China.
While the threat of U.S. sanctions has prompted Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia and the Philippines to avoid purchasing some Russian military hardware, all the major powers must still tread carefully in dealing with the region, said Ian Storey, senior fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
“Southeast Asian countries are not without agency, and their stances they adopt towards the conflict will be based on their national interests and foreign policy outlooks,” he said.
“Overt pressure from Washington, Beijing or Moscow to pick sides will likely backfire.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u- ... hp&pc=U531
Re: CHINA
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Bristling Against the West, China Rallies Domestic Sympathy for Russia"
Chris Buckley
4 APRIL 2022
While Russian troops have battered Ukraine, officials in China have been meeting behind closed doors to study a Communist Party-produced documentary that extols President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as a hero.
The humiliating collapse of the Soviet Union, the video says, was the result of efforts by the United States to destroy its legitimacy.
With swelling music and sunny scenes of present-day Moscow, the documentary praises Mr. Putin for restoring Stalin’s standing as a great wartime leader and for renewing patriotic pride in Russia’s past.
To the world, China casts itself as a principled onlooker of the war in Ukraine, not picking sides, simply seeking peace.
At home, though, the Chinese Communist Party is pushing a campaign that paints Russia as a long-suffering victim rather than an aggressor and defends China’s strong ties with Moscow as vital.
Chinese universities have organized classes to give students a “correct understanding” of the war, often highlighting Russia’s grievances with the West.
Party newspapers have run series of commentaries blaming the United States for the conflict.
Around the country, the Communist Party has organized sessions for officials to watch and discuss the history documentary.
The 101 minute-long video, which was completed last year, does not mention the war in Ukraine but argues that Russia is right to worry about neighbors that broke away from the Soviet Union.
It describes Mr. Putin as cleansing Russia of the political toxins that killed the Soviet Union.
“The most powerful weapon possessed by the West is, aside from nuclear weapons, the methods they use in ideological struggle,” says the documentary’s stern-voiced narrator, citing a Russian scholar.
The documentary was marked for internal viewing — that is, for audiences chosen by party officials and not for general public release — but the video and script have recently surfaced online in China.
Since the demise of the Soviet Union, it says, “some countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Transcaucasia have become forward positions for the West to contain and meddle in Russia.”
China’s leaders have long used the Soviet collapse as a cautionary tale, but Mr. Xi has given that tale a more urgent, ominous spin.
In doing so, he has embraced Mr. Putin as a fellow authoritarian lined up against Western dominance, demonstrating to the Chinese people that Mr. Xi has a partner in his cause.
It’s unclear whether allegations of atrocities by Russia soldiers, with civilians found shot in the head or with their hands tied behind their back before being killed, will effect China’s support of the Russian invasion.
But China has so far refused to condemn Mr. Putin for the war, which has killed thousands of civilians.
Despite pressure from other world leaders to use its influence over Moscow to help end the crisis, Beijing has done little besides call for peace.
And on Thursday Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, expressed his country’s commitment to strong ties with Moscow during talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in China.
The Biden administration has cast the war as a contest between democracy and authoritarianism.
Chinese officials are mounting a counternarrative that American-led domineering is the source of conflict in Ukraine and elsewhere.
They regard China and Russia as both menaced by “color revolution,” the party’s phrase for insurrections backed by Western governments.
President Biden’s recent comments calling for Mr. Putin’s ousting are likely to reinforce Beijing’s view.
“They actually believe their own narrative about color revolutions and tend to see this whole situation as a U.S.-led color revolution to overthrow Putin,” said Christopher K. Johnson, the president of the China Strategies Group and a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst of Chinese politics.
“Both domestically and internationally, Xi has been peddling this dark narrative since he took power,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview.
“It allows him to justify his accumulation of power and the changes he’s made by creating this sense of struggle and danger.”
The documentary depicts the collapse of the Soviet Union as a lesson to Chinese officials not to be seduced by Western liberalism.
China, the documentary says, must never follow the course taken by Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader who had started glasnost, or openness, and engagement with the West.
In 2013, propaganda officials under Mr. Xi put out a documentary on the lessons of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This latest take offers an even more conspiratorial interpretation.
The documentary attributes the decline of the Soviet Union to political liberalization, especially what Beijing calls “historical nihilism,” or emphasizing the Communist Party’s mistakes and misdeeds.
It accuses historians critical of the Soviet revolution of fabricating estimated death tolls by many millions for Stalin’s purges.
Stalin, it argues, was a modernizing leader whose purges went too far but initially “were something of a necessity” given the threats to Soviet rule.
It suggests that rock music and modern fashion were symptoms of the moral rot that later set in.
“They’ve taken only one lesson from all of this, and that is you do not allow any freedom of expression,” said Sergey Radchenko, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies who studies Chinese and Soviet history, “because this kind of freedom inevitably leads to loss of political control and that creates chaos.”
The documentary credits Mr. Putin with restoring Russia’s spirit.
It shows Mr. Putin marching in a parade marking Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany, and young Russians kissing a banner featuring his portrait.
Previous leaders in Moscow — above all Mr. Gorbachev and Nikita S. Khrushchev — are portrayed as dupes, bewitched by the siren song of liberal reform and Western superiority.
The documentary, “Historical Nihilism and the Soviet Collapse,” has been the centerpiece of a monthslong campaign aimed at party officials that has continued since Russia began its full assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to reports on local government websites.
Officials overseeing the screenings are often described in official notices as calling for cadres to maintain firm loyalty to Mr. Xi.
“Loving a party and its leader is not a cult of personality,” Zheng Keyang, a former deputy director of the party’s Central Policy Research Office and a consultant on the documentary, said in a discussion about the documentary published by a pro-party website this month.
Chinese leaders have been debating why the Soviet Union fell apart ever since it dissolved in 1991.
More than his predecessors, Mr. Xi has blamed the Soviet Union’s breakup on lack of ideological spine and Western political subversion.
“If you have the worldview that you see in this documentary, you could tell yourself the story that the Russians are facing a real threat from the West,” Joseph Torigian, an assistant professor at American University in Washington who studies elite politics in China and Russia, said in an interview.
The study drive is aimed at instilling loyalty among cadres before a Chinese Communist Party congress late this year where Mr. Xi appears set to claim a third term.
Political loyalty has become more crucial to Mr. Xi as Beijing tries to contain Covid outbreaks with stringent lockdowns, and manage a slowing economy.
China’s foreign policy is under scrutiny, after some Chinese scholars posted essays criticizing Beijing’s refusal to condemn Mr. Putin.
Many of the critical essays have been deleted and the party has pushed harder to defend its stance in recent weeks.
Editorials in Communist Party newspapers have amplified the Chinese leadership’s argument that the real culprit in Ukraine is the United States and NATO, for undermining Russian security.
“It was the United States that personally lit the fuse of the present conflagration between Russia and Ukraine,” stated one of a series of editorials in the Liberation Army Daily, the military’s main newspaper.
Universities and colleges have organized indoctrination lectures for students, suggesting that officials are worried that young, educated Chinese may be receptive to the criticisms that Beijing has been too indulgent of Mr. Putin.
Liu Zuokui, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told an audience of college students in eastern China that the war arose from “NATO’s eastward expansion that squeezed Russia’s space for survival,” an online summary of the lecture said.
China, another speaker told physicists in Beijing, had to protect its strategic partnership with Russia from “intense shocks and impacts.”
The party’s demands for conformity over the crisis will make it harder for any dissent to coalesce into a pushback against Mr. Xi.
“There’s an ‘either we hang together or we hang separately’ attitude that comes into play,” Mr. Johnson, the former C.I.A. analyst, said of Chinese leaders.
“If it’s a strong nationalist approach, then who in the party doesn’t want to be a good nationalist?”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/br ... 5d95bb4e97
"Bristling Against the West, China Rallies Domestic Sympathy for Russia"
Chris Buckley
4 APRIL 2022
While Russian troops have battered Ukraine, officials in China have been meeting behind closed doors to study a Communist Party-produced documentary that extols President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as a hero.
The humiliating collapse of the Soviet Union, the video says, was the result of efforts by the United States to destroy its legitimacy.
With swelling music and sunny scenes of present-day Moscow, the documentary praises Mr. Putin for restoring Stalin’s standing as a great wartime leader and for renewing patriotic pride in Russia’s past.
To the world, China casts itself as a principled onlooker of the war in Ukraine, not picking sides, simply seeking peace.
At home, though, the Chinese Communist Party is pushing a campaign that paints Russia as a long-suffering victim rather than an aggressor and defends China’s strong ties with Moscow as vital.
Chinese universities have organized classes to give students a “correct understanding” of the war, often highlighting Russia’s grievances with the West.
Party newspapers have run series of commentaries blaming the United States for the conflict.
Around the country, the Communist Party has organized sessions for officials to watch and discuss the history documentary.
The 101 minute-long video, which was completed last year, does not mention the war in Ukraine but argues that Russia is right to worry about neighbors that broke away from the Soviet Union.
It describes Mr. Putin as cleansing Russia of the political toxins that killed the Soviet Union.
“The most powerful weapon possessed by the West is, aside from nuclear weapons, the methods they use in ideological struggle,” says the documentary’s stern-voiced narrator, citing a Russian scholar.
The documentary was marked for internal viewing — that is, for audiences chosen by party officials and not for general public release — but the video and script have recently surfaced online in China.
Since the demise of the Soviet Union, it says, “some countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Transcaucasia have become forward positions for the West to contain and meddle in Russia.”
China’s leaders have long used the Soviet collapse as a cautionary tale, but Mr. Xi has given that tale a more urgent, ominous spin.
In doing so, he has embraced Mr. Putin as a fellow authoritarian lined up against Western dominance, demonstrating to the Chinese people that Mr. Xi has a partner in his cause.
It’s unclear whether allegations of atrocities by Russia soldiers, with civilians found shot in the head or with their hands tied behind their back before being killed, will effect China’s support of the Russian invasion.
But China has so far refused to condemn Mr. Putin for the war, which has killed thousands of civilians.
Despite pressure from other world leaders to use its influence over Moscow to help end the crisis, Beijing has done little besides call for peace.
And on Thursday Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, expressed his country’s commitment to strong ties with Moscow during talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in China.
The Biden administration has cast the war as a contest between democracy and authoritarianism.
Chinese officials are mounting a counternarrative that American-led domineering is the source of conflict in Ukraine and elsewhere.
They regard China and Russia as both menaced by “color revolution,” the party’s phrase for insurrections backed by Western governments.
President Biden’s recent comments calling for Mr. Putin’s ousting are likely to reinforce Beijing’s view.
“They actually believe their own narrative about color revolutions and tend to see this whole situation as a U.S.-led color revolution to overthrow Putin,” said Christopher K. Johnson, the president of the China Strategies Group and a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst of Chinese politics.
“Both domestically and internationally, Xi has been peddling this dark narrative since he took power,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview.
“It allows him to justify his accumulation of power and the changes he’s made by creating this sense of struggle and danger.”
The documentary depicts the collapse of the Soviet Union as a lesson to Chinese officials not to be seduced by Western liberalism.
China, the documentary says, must never follow the course taken by Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader who had started glasnost, or openness, and engagement with the West.
In 2013, propaganda officials under Mr. Xi put out a documentary on the lessons of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This latest take offers an even more conspiratorial interpretation.
The documentary attributes the decline of the Soviet Union to political liberalization, especially what Beijing calls “historical nihilism,” or emphasizing the Communist Party’s mistakes and misdeeds.
It accuses historians critical of the Soviet revolution of fabricating estimated death tolls by many millions for Stalin’s purges.
Stalin, it argues, was a modernizing leader whose purges went too far but initially “were something of a necessity” given the threats to Soviet rule.
It suggests that rock music and modern fashion were symptoms of the moral rot that later set in.
“They’ve taken only one lesson from all of this, and that is you do not allow any freedom of expression,” said Sergey Radchenko, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies who studies Chinese and Soviet history, “because this kind of freedom inevitably leads to loss of political control and that creates chaos.”
The documentary credits Mr. Putin with restoring Russia’s spirit.
It shows Mr. Putin marching in a parade marking Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany, and young Russians kissing a banner featuring his portrait.
Previous leaders in Moscow — above all Mr. Gorbachev and Nikita S. Khrushchev — are portrayed as dupes, bewitched by the siren song of liberal reform and Western superiority.
The documentary, “Historical Nihilism and the Soviet Collapse,” has been the centerpiece of a monthslong campaign aimed at party officials that has continued since Russia began its full assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to reports on local government websites.
Officials overseeing the screenings are often described in official notices as calling for cadres to maintain firm loyalty to Mr. Xi.
“Loving a party and its leader is not a cult of personality,” Zheng Keyang, a former deputy director of the party’s Central Policy Research Office and a consultant on the documentary, said in a discussion about the documentary published by a pro-party website this month.
Chinese leaders have been debating why the Soviet Union fell apart ever since it dissolved in 1991.
More than his predecessors, Mr. Xi has blamed the Soviet Union’s breakup on lack of ideological spine and Western political subversion.
“If you have the worldview that you see in this documentary, you could tell yourself the story that the Russians are facing a real threat from the West,” Joseph Torigian, an assistant professor at American University in Washington who studies elite politics in China and Russia, said in an interview.
The study drive is aimed at instilling loyalty among cadres before a Chinese Communist Party congress late this year where Mr. Xi appears set to claim a third term.
Political loyalty has become more crucial to Mr. Xi as Beijing tries to contain Covid outbreaks with stringent lockdowns, and manage a slowing economy.
China’s foreign policy is under scrutiny, after some Chinese scholars posted essays criticizing Beijing’s refusal to condemn Mr. Putin.
Many of the critical essays have been deleted and the party has pushed harder to defend its stance in recent weeks.
Editorials in Communist Party newspapers have amplified the Chinese leadership’s argument that the real culprit in Ukraine is the United States and NATO, for undermining Russian security.
“It was the United States that personally lit the fuse of the present conflagration between Russia and Ukraine,” stated one of a series of editorials in the Liberation Army Daily, the military’s main newspaper.
Universities and colleges have organized indoctrination lectures for students, suggesting that officials are worried that young, educated Chinese may be receptive to the criticisms that Beijing has been too indulgent of Mr. Putin.
Liu Zuokui, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told an audience of college students in eastern China that the war arose from “NATO’s eastward expansion that squeezed Russia’s space for survival,” an online summary of the lecture said.
China, another speaker told physicists in Beijing, had to protect its strategic partnership with Russia from “intense shocks and impacts.”
The party’s demands for conformity over the crisis will make it harder for any dissent to coalesce into a pushback against Mr. Xi.
“There’s an ‘either we hang together or we hang separately’ attitude that comes into play,” Mr. Johnson, the former C.I.A. analyst, said of Chinese leaders.
“If it’s a strong nationalist approach, then who in the party doesn’t want to be a good nationalist?”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/br ... 5d95bb4e97
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"Yellen says Russia should be expelled from G20, U.S. may boycott some meetings"
By David Lawder, Dan Burns
APRIL 6, 2022
(Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that Russia should be expelled from the Group of 20 major economies forum, and the United States will boycott “a number of G20 meetings” if Russian officials show up.
Her comments at a U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing raised questions about the G20’s future role in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since 2008, the club has served as a key international forum for issues from COVID-19 relief to cross-border debt and also includes China, India, Saudi Arabia and other countries that have been reluctant to condemn Russia’s actions.
Yellen told lawmakers that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the killings of civilians in Bucha “are reprehensible, represent an unacceptable affront to the rules-based global order, and will have enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond.”
The United States and its key allies have placed greater emphasis in recent months on the G7 grouping of industrial democracies, whose interests are more aligned, using G7 meetings to coordinate their response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Yellen said that the Biden administration wants to push Russia out of active participation in major international institutions, but acknowledged that it was unlikely that Russia could be expelled from the International Monetary Fund given its rules.
“President Biden’s made it clear, and I certainly agree with him, that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in any of the financial institutions,” Yellen said in response to a question.
“He’s asked that Russia be removed from the G20, and I’ve made clear to my colleagues in Indonesia that we will not be participating in a number of meetings if the Russians are there,” Yellen said.
Indonesia holds the presidency this year and will host a finance meeting in July and a leaders summit in November.
A Treasury spokesperson later said that Yellen was referring to an April 20 G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington and associated deputies meetings.
The April finance meeting will be held both in-person and virtually and Russia’s participation is unclear at present.
Russia has said that President Vladimir Putin intends to attend the G20 summit in Bali this year and has received China’s backing to stay in the group.
ENERGY FLEXIBILITY
Yellen’s testimony came as the Biden administration announced a new round of sanctions to punish Russia, including banning Americans from investing in Russia and locking Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender and holder of a third of its bank deposits, out of the U.S. financial system, along with other institutions.
But transactions allowing European allies to purchase Russian oil and natural gas were exempted through special Treasury licenses.
Yellen said that flexibility on Russian energy transactions was needed because many European countries “remain heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, as well as oil, and they are committed to making the transition away from that dependence as rapidly as possible.”
But she acknowledged that this would take time.
A complete ban on oil exports from Russia, the world’s third-largest producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia, would likely prompt “skyrocketing” prices that would hurt both the United States and Europe, Yellen said.
She added that she hoped that currently high prices would entice oil companies in the United States and elsewhere to ramp up production in the next six months, which, along with the Biden’s release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, may allow for tougher restrictions on Russian oil.
CHINA WARNING
Yellen also issued a warning to China that Treasury was prepared to turn its sanctions tools against Beijing in the event of Chinese aggression against Taiwan, which China claims as a wayward province.
Asked if the United States would take such steps if Taiwan was threatened, she said: “Absolutely. I believe we’ve shown that we can."
"In the case of Russia, we threatened significant consequences."
"We’ve imposed significant consequences."
"And I think that you should not doubt our ability and resolve to do the same in other situations.”
Reporting by David Lawder and Dan Burns; Editing by Andrea Ricci
https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine ... SL2N2W41GF
"Yellen says Russia should be expelled from G20, U.S. may boycott some meetings"
By David Lawder, Dan Burns
APRIL 6, 2022
(Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that Russia should be expelled from the Group of 20 major economies forum, and the United States will boycott “a number of G20 meetings” if Russian officials show up.
Her comments at a U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing raised questions about the G20’s future role in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since 2008, the club has served as a key international forum for issues from COVID-19 relief to cross-border debt and also includes China, India, Saudi Arabia and other countries that have been reluctant to condemn Russia’s actions.
Yellen told lawmakers that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the killings of civilians in Bucha “are reprehensible, represent an unacceptable affront to the rules-based global order, and will have enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond.”
The United States and its key allies have placed greater emphasis in recent months on the G7 grouping of industrial democracies, whose interests are more aligned, using G7 meetings to coordinate their response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Yellen said that the Biden administration wants to push Russia out of active participation in major international institutions, but acknowledged that it was unlikely that Russia could be expelled from the International Monetary Fund given its rules.
“President Biden’s made it clear, and I certainly agree with him, that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in any of the financial institutions,” Yellen said in response to a question.
“He’s asked that Russia be removed from the G20, and I’ve made clear to my colleagues in Indonesia that we will not be participating in a number of meetings if the Russians are there,” Yellen said.
Indonesia holds the presidency this year and will host a finance meeting in July and a leaders summit in November.
A Treasury spokesperson later said that Yellen was referring to an April 20 G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington and associated deputies meetings.
The April finance meeting will be held both in-person and virtually and Russia’s participation is unclear at present.
Russia has said that President Vladimir Putin intends to attend the G20 summit in Bali this year and has received China’s backing to stay in the group.
ENERGY FLEXIBILITY
Yellen’s testimony came as the Biden administration announced a new round of sanctions to punish Russia, including banning Americans from investing in Russia and locking Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender and holder of a third of its bank deposits, out of the U.S. financial system, along with other institutions.
But transactions allowing European allies to purchase Russian oil and natural gas were exempted through special Treasury licenses.
Yellen said that flexibility on Russian energy transactions was needed because many European countries “remain heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, as well as oil, and they are committed to making the transition away from that dependence as rapidly as possible.”
But she acknowledged that this would take time.
A complete ban on oil exports from Russia, the world’s third-largest producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia, would likely prompt “skyrocketing” prices that would hurt both the United States and Europe, Yellen said.
She added that she hoped that currently high prices would entice oil companies in the United States and elsewhere to ramp up production in the next six months, which, along with the Biden’s release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, may allow for tougher restrictions on Russian oil.
CHINA WARNING
Yellen also issued a warning to China that Treasury was prepared to turn its sanctions tools against Beijing in the event of Chinese aggression against Taiwan, which China claims as a wayward province.
Asked if the United States would take such steps if Taiwan was threatened, she said: “Absolutely. I believe we’ve shown that we can."
"In the case of Russia, we threatened significant consequences."
"We’ve imposed significant consequences."
"And I think that you should not doubt our ability and resolve to do the same in other situations.”
Reporting by David Lawder and Dan Burns; Editing by Andrea Ricci
https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine ... SL2N2W41GF
Re: CHINA
BLOOMBERG
"Yellen Talks Tough on China, Warning of Fallout Over Russia Ties"
Christopher Condon and Eric Martin
13 APRIL 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday delivered a pointed warning to China on its alignment with Russia, suggesting potential economic consequences from the international community depending on how it approaches President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“China has recently affirmed a special relationship with Russia,” Yellen said in a speech Wednesday to the Atlantic Council.
“I fervently hope that China will make something positive of this relationship and help to end this war.”
Yellen used the speech -- at a think tank established in the 1960s to foster support for NATO and the concept of collective security, and coming a week before a spring gathering of global finance chiefs -- to lay out the contours of a revitalized international financial and economic architecture.
While she said she hopes to avoid a “bipolar” split between U.S.- and China-led systems, her remarks may deepen bilateral tensions.
In some of her sharpest comments on China since taking office, the Treasury chief warned that “going forward, it will be increasingly difficult to separate economic issues from broader considerations of national interest, including national security.”
“The world’s attitude towards China and its willingness to embrace further economic integration may well be affected by China’s reaction to our call for resolute action on Russia,” she said.
‘Friend-Shoring’
Yellen backed the strategy of “friend-shoring,” where supply chains depend on allies rather than “countries where we have geopolitical tensions.”
“We cannot allow countries to use their market position in key raw materials, technologies, or products to have the power to disrupt our economy or exercise unwanted geopolitical leverage,” she said.
President Xi Jinping’s government has refrained from joining the U.S.-led sanctions on Russia, while calling for respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China has also declared that Russia’s moves on Ukraine are “not comparable at all” to Beijing’s determination to reunify Taiwan with mainland China.
“China cannot expect the global community to respect its appeals to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity in the future if does not respect these principles now when it counts,” Yellen said.
Fence Sitters
She also reiterated that for nations “sitting on the fence” over the international effort to punish Russia, any moves to undermine sanctions would draw the ire of the U.S. and its allies.
In the face of moves by Xi to lay out China’s authoritarian system as a model for emerging and developing nations across the globe, Yellen said “the future of the international order” was at stake.
Yellen also rebutted any criticism that the efforts led by Washington to isolate Russia from the dollar-based global financial system were “motivated by any one country’s foreign-policy objectives.”
The U.S.-led neutralizing of about half of Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves, and cutting off a swathe of Russian institutions from accessing dollar-based financial infrastructure, has raised questions among some analysts about whether it’s abusing the greenback’s dominance.
Dollar’s Role
Yellen in her speech suggested, however, that the U.S. and its allies were acting to safeguard international rules, rather than violate them.
Russia, instead, is the one that’s broken with a global norms, the secretary indicated.
“We are acting in support of our principles -- our opposition to aggression, to widespread violence against civilians and in alignment with our commitment to a rules-based global order that protects peace and prosperity,” she said.
Washington and its allies were successful in exacting deep damage even after Russia’s central bank largely removed U.S. dollars from its $640 billion-plus reserves -- power that could potentially encourage some emerging markets to turn instead to other currencies for international trade and finance.
Saudi Arabia reportedly was last month considering accepting yuan payments for oil sold to China, for example.
It will be a long time, “if ever” that the dollar is replaced in the global financial system, Yellen said in answering questions after the speech.
Yellen also used the speech to call on governments to extend the cooperation shown in punishing Russia to other urgent global projects, from fighting climate change to upping the effort on vaccine distribution.
She urged the IMF and multilateral development banks to be modernized “so that they are fit for the 21st century.”
Nations also need to consider the governance of the IMF “to ensure that it reflects both the current global economy and also members’ commitments to the IMF’s underlying principles and objectives,” Yellen said.
The Treasury chief called for larger support for developing countries from development banks, bilateral official donors and creditors and the private sector, including for needed infrastructure and climate objectives.
“The response to date is not to the scale needed,” she said.
“Experts put the funding needs in the trillions, and we have so far been working in billions.”
(Updates with comments from question-and-answer session in in third paragraph.)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ye ... 070644a236
"Yellen Talks Tough on China, Warning of Fallout Over Russia Ties"
Christopher Condon and Eric Martin
13 APRIL 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday delivered a pointed warning to China on its alignment with Russia, suggesting potential economic consequences from the international community depending on how it approaches President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“China has recently affirmed a special relationship with Russia,” Yellen said in a speech Wednesday to the Atlantic Council.
“I fervently hope that China will make something positive of this relationship and help to end this war.”
Yellen used the speech -- at a think tank established in the 1960s to foster support for NATO and the concept of collective security, and coming a week before a spring gathering of global finance chiefs -- to lay out the contours of a revitalized international financial and economic architecture.
While she said she hopes to avoid a “bipolar” split between U.S.- and China-led systems, her remarks may deepen bilateral tensions.
In some of her sharpest comments on China since taking office, the Treasury chief warned that “going forward, it will be increasingly difficult to separate economic issues from broader considerations of national interest, including national security.”
“The world’s attitude towards China and its willingness to embrace further economic integration may well be affected by China’s reaction to our call for resolute action on Russia,” she said.
‘Friend-Shoring’
Yellen backed the strategy of “friend-shoring,” where supply chains depend on allies rather than “countries where we have geopolitical tensions.”
“We cannot allow countries to use their market position in key raw materials, technologies, or products to have the power to disrupt our economy or exercise unwanted geopolitical leverage,” she said.
President Xi Jinping’s government has refrained from joining the U.S.-led sanctions on Russia, while calling for respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China has also declared that Russia’s moves on Ukraine are “not comparable at all” to Beijing’s determination to reunify Taiwan with mainland China.
“China cannot expect the global community to respect its appeals to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity in the future if does not respect these principles now when it counts,” Yellen said.
Fence Sitters
She also reiterated that for nations “sitting on the fence” over the international effort to punish Russia, any moves to undermine sanctions would draw the ire of the U.S. and its allies.
In the face of moves by Xi to lay out China’s authoritarian system as a model for emerging and developing nations across the globe, Yellen said “the future of the international order” was at stake.
Yellen also rebutted any criticism that the efforts led by Washington to isolate Russia from the dollar-based global financial system were “motivated by any one country’s foreign-policy objectives.”
The U.S.-led neutralizing of about half of Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves, and cutting off a swathe of Russian institutions from accessing dollar-based financial infrastructure, has raised questions among some analysts about whether it’s abusing the greenback’s dominance.
Dollar’s Role
Yellen in her speech suggested, however, that the U.S. and its allies were acting to safeguard international rules, rather than violate them.
Russia, instead, is the one that’s broken with a global norms, the secretary indicated.
“We are acting in support of our principles -- our opposition to aggression, to widespread violence against civilians and in alignment with our commitment to a rules-based global order that protects peace and prosperity,” she said.
Washington and its allies were successful in exacting deep damage even after Russia’s central bank largely removed U.S. dollars from its $640 billion-plus reserves -- power that could potentially encourage some emerging markets to turn instead to other currencies for international trade and finance.
Saudi Arabia reportedly was last month considering accepting yuan payments for oil sold to China, for example.
It will be a long time, “if ever” that the dollar is replaced in the global financial system, Yellen said in answering questions after the speech.
Yellen also used the speech to call on governments to extend the cooperation shown in punishing Russia to other urgent global projects, from fighting climate change to upping the effort on vaccine distribution.
She urged the IMF and multilateral development banks to be modernized “so that they are fit for the 21st century.”
Nations also need to consider the governance of the IMF “to ensure that it reflects both the current global economy and also members’ commitments to the IMF’s underlying principles and objectives,” Yellen said.
The Treasury chief called for larger support for developing countries from development banks, bilateral official donors and creditors and the private sector, including for needed infrastructure and climate objectives.
“The response to date is not to the scale needed,” she said.
“Experts put the funding needs in the trillions, and we have so far been working in billions.”
(Updates with comments from question-and-answer session in in third paragraph.)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ye ... 070644a236
Re: CHINA
SBS NEWS
"China and Solomon Islands ink controversial security deal as concerns grow over regional influence - Canberra is concerned that the pact, details of which have not been made public, could be a step towards a Chinese military presence less than 2,000 km from Australia."
Source: SBS, Reuters
Published 19 April 2022 at 7:42pm, updated 19 April 2022 at 8:29pm
China said on Tuesday it had signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, a move set to heighten the concerns of the United States and allies Australia and New Zealand about growing Chinese influence in a region traditionally under their sway.
The framework pact was recently signed by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Manele, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing.
He did not give details of where, or precisely when, the signing took place.
Canberra is concerned that the pact, details of which have not been made public, could be a step towards a Chinese military presence less than 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Australia.
Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong has placed the blame on the federal government for failing to prevent the security deal from taking place.
Senator Wong said the Indo-Pacific region "has become less secure" under Prime Minister Scott Morrison's leadership, "despite all of his tough talk".
"[Mr Morrison's] government was warned of this security pact in August and he hasn't even bothered to send the Foreign Minister to the Solomon Islands to raise concerns on behalf of all Australians," she wrote on Twitter.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Pacific islands nation was told that China would send officials to the Solomons next month to sign cooperation pacts.
Although the Chinese embassy and Solomon Islands officials had previously initialled a security pact that would allow Chinese police to protect infrastructure and social order, ministers had not yet signed it.
Last week, Zed Seselja, Australia's minister for international development and the Pacific, visited Honiara to ask Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare not to sign the framework pact.
On Monday, the White House said a high-level US delegation including Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell would also travel to Honiara this week to discuss concerns about China, as well as the reopening of a US embassy.
"Deliberate attempts to inflate tensions and mobilise rival camps are also doomed to fail," Mr Wang, the Chinese spokesman, said on Tuesday, when asked about the US officials' scheduled visit.
Honiara's parliament was told by Mr Douglas Ete, chairman of the public accounts committee and lawmaker for East Honiara, that Chinese foreign ministry officials would arrive next month.
"The PRC foreign affairs is heading to Honiara in the middle of May to sign multilateral agreements and cooperations with the Solomon Islands government," he said, referring to China.
Mr Ete said the visit meant the two nations would increase cooperation on trade, education and fisheries, but added that he rejected the idea of the Solomons signing a security pact with China to set up a military base.
Mr Sogavare told parliament the proposed security agreement would not include a Chinese military base.
His office said it could not confirm which Chinese officials would visit Honiara.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/chi ... /i24vmxh6d
"China and Solomon Islands ink controversial security deal as concerns grow over regional influence - Canberra is concerned that the pact, details of which have not been made public, could be a step towards a Chinese military presence less than 2,000 km from Australia."
Source: SBS, Reuters
Published 19 April 2022 at 7:42pm, updated 19 April 2022 at 8:29pm
China said on Tuesday it had signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, a move set to heighten the concerns of the United States and allies Australia and New Zealand about growing Chinese influence in a region traditionally under their sway.
The framework pact was recently signed by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Manele, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing.
He did not give details of where, or precisely when, the signing took place.
Canberra is concerned that the pact, details of which have not been made public, could be a step towards a Chinese military presence less than 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Australia.
Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong has placed the blame on the federal government for failing to prevent the security deal from taking place.
Senator Wong said the Indo-Pacific region "has become less secure" under Prime Minister Scott Morrison's leadership, "despite all of his tough talk".
"[Mr Morrison's] government was warned of this security pact in August and he hasn't even bothered to send the Foreign Minister to the Solomon Islands to raise concerns on behalf of all Australians," she wrote on Twitter.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Pacific islands nation was told that China would send officials to the Solomons next month to sign cooperation pacts.
Although the Chinese embassy and Solomon Islands officials had previously initialled a security pact that would allow Chinese police to protect infrastructure and social order, ministers had not yet signed it.
Last week, Zed Seselja, Australia's minister for international development and the Pacific, visited Honiara to ask Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare not to sign the framework pact.
On Monday, the White House said a high-level US delegation including Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell would also travel to Honiara this week to discuss concerns about China, as well as the reopening of a US embassy.
"Deliberate attempts to inflate tensions and mobilise rival camps are also doomed to fail," Mr Wang, the Chinese spokesman, said on Tuesday, when asked about the US officials' scheduled visit.
Honiara's parliament was told by Mr Douglas Ete, chairman of the public accounts committee and lawmaker for East Honiara, that Chinese foreign ministry officials would arrive next month.
"The PRC foreign affairs is heading to Honiara in the middle of May to sign multilateral agreements and cooperations with the Solomon Islands government," he said, referring to China.
Mr Ete said the visit meant the two nations would increase cooperation on trade, education and fisheries, but added that he rejected the idea of the Solomons signing a security pact with China to set up a military base.
Mr Sogavare told parliament the proposed security agreement would not include a Chinese military base.
His office said it could not confirm which Chinese officials would visit Honiara.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/chi ... /i24vmxh6d
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"Japan's U.S. Treasury holdings drop to lowest since January 2020 -data"
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
MAY 16, 2022
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Japan’s holdings of Treasuries in March fell to their lowest level in more than two years as a sharp depreciation of the yen against the dollar encouraged Japanese investors to sell U.S. assets to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate for their fiscal year-end.
Japanese holdings fell by $74 billion to $1.232 trillion in March, the lowest level since January 2020, data from the U.S. Treasury department showed on Monday.
Japan, however, remained the largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries.
“It’s nearly three times the largest sales of Japanese accounts on record, and enormous doesn’t even begin to give it justice,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, senior rates strategist, at TD Securities in New York.
“The yen depreciated significantly in March which allowed Japanese investors to sell Treasuries at more advantageous levels going into their fiscal year-end in March."
"They booked profits and brought money home and these repatriation flows by Japanese investors were done at unprecedented levels.”
The yen fell 5.5% against the U.S. dollar in March.
Overall, foreign holdings of Treasuries fell to their lowest since September, to $7.613 trillion, down from $7.710 trillion in February.
China, the second largest holder of Treasuries, also saw its holdings decline during the month to $1.039 trillion, the lowest since December 2018.
On a transaction basis, net new foreign inflows to Treasuries eased to $48.795 billion in March, from $75.33 billion the previous month.
Treasuries have posted inflows for five straight months.
U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields started March with a yield of 1.7156%, and rose nearly 63 basis points to 2.3452% by the end of the month.
The Federal Reserve, at its policy meeting in March, raised benchmark interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.
It then lifted rates by 50 bps in May and is on course to tighten rates by the same magnitude at the next two policy meetings.
The Fed actions propelled U.S. yields higher.
In other asset classes, corporate bonds, posted inflows in of $33.38 billion, the largest since March 2021, from inflows of $20.3 billion in February, data showed.
Foreigners, however, sold U.S. equities in March amounting to $94.338 billion, the largest outflow since at least January 1978, when the Treasury Department started keeping track of this data.
Foreign investors sold stocks as the Fed signaled a more aggressive pace of tightening to curb soaring inflation.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chris Reese and Richard Pullin)
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-tre ... SL2N2X82DQ
"Japan's U.S. Treasury holdings drop to lowest since January 2020 -data"
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
MAY 16, 2022
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Japan’s holdings of Treasuries in March fell to their lowest level in more than two years as a sharp depreciation of the yen against the dollar encouraged Japanese investors to sell U.S. assets to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate for their fiscal year-end.
Japanese holdings fell by $74 billion to $1.232 trillion in March, the lowest level since January 2020, data from the U.S. Treasury department showed on Monday.
Japan, however, remained the largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries.
“It’s nearly three times the largest sales of Japanese accounts on record, and enormous doesn’t even begin to give it justice,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, senior rates strategist, at TD Securities in New York.
“The yen depreciated significantly in March which allowed Japanese investors to sell Treasuries at more advantageous levels going into their fiscal year-end in March."
"They booked profits and brought money home and these repatriation flows by Japanese investors were done at unprecedented levels.”
The yen fell 5.5% against the U.S. dollar in March.
Overall, foreign holdings of Treasuries fell to their lowest since September, to $7.613 trillion, down from $7.710 trillion in February.
China, the second largest holder of Treasuries, also saw its holdings decline during the month to $1.039 trillion, the lowest since December 2018.
On a transaction basis, net new foreign inflows to Treasuries eased to $48.795 billion in March, from $75.33 billion the previous month.
Treasuries have posted inflows for five straight months.
U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields started March with a yield of 1.7156%, and rose nearly 63 basis points to 2.3452% by the end of the month.
The Federal Reserve, at its policy meeting in March, raised benchmark interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.
It then lifted rates by 50 bps in May and is on course to tighten rates by the same magnitude at the next two policy meetings.
The Fed actions propelled U.S. yields higher.
In other asset classes, corporate bonds, posted inflows in of $33.38 billion, the largest since March 2021, from inflows of $20.3 billion in February, data showed.
Foreigners, however, sold U.S. equities in March amounting to $94.338 billion, the largest outflow since at least January 1978, when the Treasury Department started keeping track of this data.
Foreign investors sold stocks as the Fed signaled a more aggressive pace of tightening to curb soaring inflation.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chris Reese and Richard Pullin)
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-tre ... SL2N2X82DQ
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"China, U.S. lead rise in global debt to record high $305 trillion - IIF"
By Rodrigo Campos
May 18, 2022
NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - The world's two largest economies borrowed the most in the first quarter as global debt rose to a record above $305 trillion, while the overall debt-to-output ratio declined, data from the Institute of International Finance showed on Wednesday.
China's debt increased by $2.5 trillion over the first quarter and the United States added $1.5 trillion, the data showed, while total debt in the euro zone declined for a third consecutive quarter.
The analysis showed many countries, both emerging and developed, are entering a monetary tightening cycle -led by the U.S. Federal Reserve- with high levels of dollar denominated debt.
"As central banks move ahead with policy tightening to curb inflationary pressures, higher borrowing costs will exacerbate debt vulnerabilities," the IIF report said.
"The impact could be more severe for those emerging market borrowers that have a less diversified investor base."
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note has risen some 150 basis points so far this year and earlier this month hit its highest since 2018.
SOVEREIGNS BEWARE
Corporate debt outside banks and government borrowing were the largest sources of the increase in borrowing, with debt outside the financial sector rising above $236 trillion, some $40 trillion higher than two years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Government debt has risen more slowly in the same period, but as borrowing costs rise sovereign balance sheets remain under pressure.
"With government financing needs still running well above the pre-pandemic levels, higher and more volatile commodity prices could force some countries to increase public spending even further to ward off social unrest," said the IIF.
"This might be particularly difficult for emerging markets that have less fiscal space."
The lack of transparency has also become a burden for emerging markets, where total debt is approaching $100 trillion from $89 trillion a year ago.
"The lack of timely disclosure of public debt obligations, very limited coverage of contingent liabilities (including SOE liabilities) and the extensive use of confidentiality clauses are the major impediments causing information asymmetries between creditors and debtors," said the IIF report, noting that it pushes borrowing costs higher while limiting access to private capital markets for EM borrowers.
The global debt-to-GDP ratio fell to 348%, about 15 percentage points below the record set a year ago, with major improvements seen in European Union countries.
Vietnam, Thailand and Korea posted the largest increases in that measure, the IIF said.
"Growth is expected to slow significantly this year, with adverse implications for debt dynamics," said the IIF report.
"On the back of strict lock-downs in China and tighter global funding conditions, the anticipated slowdown will likely limit or even reverse the downward trend in debt ratios."
Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ ... in,Reuters
"China, U.S. lead rise in global debt to record high $305 trillion - IIF"
By Rodrigo Campos
May 18, 2022
NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - The world's two largest economies borrowed the most in the first quarter as global debt rose to a record above $305 trillion, while the overall debt-to-output ratio declined, data from the Institute of International Finance showed on Wednesday.
China's debt increased by $2.5 trillion over the first quarter and the United States added $1.5 trillion, the data showed, while total debt in the euro zone declined for a third consecutive quarter.
The analysis showed many countries, both emerging and developed, are entering a monetary tightening cycle -led by the U.S. Federal Reserve- with high levels of dollar denominated debt.
"As central banks move ahead with policy tightening to curb inflationary pressures, higher borrowing costs will exacerbate debt vulnerabilities," the IIF report said.
"The impact could be more severe for those emerging market borrowers that have a less diversified investor base."
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note has risen some 150 basis points so far this year and earlier this month hit its highest since 2018.
SOVEREIGNS BEWARE
Corporate debt outside banks and government borrowing were the largest sources of the increase in borrowing, with debt outside the financial sector rising above $236 trillion, some $40 trillion higher than two years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Government debt has risen more slowly in the same period, but as borrowing costs rise sovereign balance sheets remain under pressure.
"With government financing needs still running well above the pre-pandemic levels, higher and more volatile commodity prices could force some countries to increase public spending even further to ward off social unrest," said the IIF.
"This might be particularly difficult for emerging markets that have less fiscal space."
The lack of transparency has also become a burden for emerging markets, where total debt is approaching $100 trillion from $89 trillion a year ago.
"The lack of timely disclosure of public debt obligations, very limited coverage of contingent liabilities (including SOE liabilities) and the extensive use of confidentiality clauses are the major impediments causing information asymmetries between creditors and debtors," said the IIF report, noting that it pushes borrowing costs higher while limiting access to private capital markets for EM borrowers.
The global debt-to-GDP ratio fell to 348%, about 15 percentage points below the record set a year ago, with major improvements seen in European Union countries.
Vietnam, Thailand and Korea posted the largest increases in that measure, the IIF said.
"Growth is expected to slow significantly this year, with adverse implications for debt dynamics," said the IIF report.
"On the back of strict lock-downs in China and tighter global funding conditions, the anticipated slowdown will likely limit or even reverse the downward trend in debt ratios."
Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ ... in,Reuters
Re: CHINA
RIGZONE
"China Spent Over $6B on Russian Energy Imports in April"
by Bloomberg | Ailing Tan
Friday, May 20, 2022
China kept buying more energy from Russia, with purchases of oil, gas and coal jumping 75% in April to over $6 billion, even as domestic demand slowed due to a resurgent virus and the US and Europe moved away from purchases.
Imports of Russian liquefied natural gas surged 80% from a year earlier to 463,000 tons, according to Chinese customs data on Friday.
That’s despite China’s total imports of the super-chilled fuel dropping by more than a third as lockdowns and other restrictions on industrial activity choked demand.
Crude imports, meanwhile, rose 4% on the year to 6.55 million tons, with Russia again behind only Saudi Arabia as China’s main source of oil.
The surge in prices that accompanied Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosted the value of China’s purchases of mineral fuels, including coal, to $6.42 billion.
It means that 72% of China’s total imports in April from its strategic partner were energy-related.
The volume figures for gas don’t include pipeline imports, which haven’t been reported since the start of the year, but the Power of Siberia link is a major conduit of the fuel to China.
Moreover, Beijing is in discussions with Moscow to replenish its strategic crude stockpiles with cheaper Russian oil, a sign that energy ties between the two are only likely to strengthen as Russia’s westward markets wither due to the war in Ukraine.
Other highlights of commodities trade between China and Russia in April:
* Coal imports fell 14% on-year to 3.82 million tons as Covid restrictions, milder weather and elevated domestic output reduced demand for the thermal variety
* But coking coal for the steel industry rose for a third month to 1.71 million tons, more than double last year’s level, after mills bought more on the prospect of enhanced government spending
* Refined copper imports fell 39% to 18,871 tons
* Refined nickel imports rose almost threefold to 1,738 tons
* Aluminum imports rose almost half to 31,218 tons
* Palladium imports were zero
* Wheat imports dropped 81% to 2,990 tons
--With assistance from Kathy Chen, Sarah Chen and Winnie Zhu.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/china ... 0-article/
"China Spent Over $6B on Russian Energy Imports in April"
by Bloomberg | Ailing Tan
Friday, May 20, 2022
China kept buying more energy from Russia, with purchases of oil, gas and coal jumping 75% in April to over $6 billion, even as domestic demand slowed due to a resurgent virus and the US and Europe moved away from purchases.
Imports of Russian liquefied natural gas surged 80% from a year earlier to 463,000 tons, according to Chinese customs data on Friday.
That’s despite China’s total imports of the super-chilled fuel dropping by more than a third as lockdowns and other restrictions on industrial activity choked demand.
Crude imports, meanwhile, rose 4% on the year to 6.55 million tons, with Russia again behind only Saudi Arabia as China’s main source of oil.
The surge in prices that accompanied Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosted the value of China’s purchases of mineral fuels, including coal, to $6.42 billion.
It means that 72% of China’s total imports in April from its strategic partner were energy-related.
The volume figures for gas don’t include pipeline imports, which haven’t been reported since the start of the year, but the Power of Siberia link is a major conduit of the fuel to China.
Moreover, Beijing is in discussions with Moscow to replenish its strategic crude stockpiles with cheaper Russian oil, a sign that energy ties between the two are only likely to strengthen as Russia’s westward markets wither due to the war in Ukraine.
Other highlights of commodities trade between China and Russia in April:
* Coal imports fell 14% on-year to 3.82 million tons as Covid restrictions, milder weather and elevated domestic output reduced demand for the thermal variety
* But coking coal for the steel industry rose for a third month to 1.71 million tons, more than double last year’s level, after mills bought more on the prospect of enhanced government spending
* Refined copper imports fell 39% to 18,871 tons
* Refined nickel imports rose almost threefold to 1,738 tons
* Aluminum imports rose almost half to 31,218 tons
* Palladium imports were zero
* Wheat imports dropped 81% to 2,990 tons
--With assistance from Kathy Chen, Sarah Chen and Winnie Zhu.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/china ... 0-article/