Vedant Patel says China cannot have stronger ties with Europe and other countries while supporting Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News
The United States said on Thursday that China cannot have stronger ties with Europe and other countries while supporting Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine.
“The People’s Republic of China can’t have its cake and eat it too. You cannot have it both ways. You want to have good, further stronger, deeper relationships with Europe and other countries. While simultaneously continuing to fuel the biggest threat to European security in a long time. It’s important of this is not just the US position, it is one that is shared by our partners in the G7, our partners at NATO and our partners in the EU,” State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a daily press briefing.
“Fuelling Russia’s defence base as the PRC has not only threatened Ukrainian security, it threatens European security. And Beijing can’t achieve better relations with Europe will also continuing to support something like this,” he added.
This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrives in Beijing for a state visit, China’s President Xi Jinping expressed readiness to work with the Russian leader to jointly steer the future direction of bilateral relations between the two countries, reported Xinhua.
During large-group talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China’s President said that the two sides should take the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties as a new starting point, further synergize development strategies, and continue to enrich bilateral cooperation, to bring greater benefits to the two countries and peoples.
Xi expressed his readiness to make new plans for cooperation between the two countries in various fields. China’s leader, Xi, noted that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of China and said that the country is advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts and moving faster to foster new productive forces through high-quality development, which will add new drivers to global economic growth.
He further stressed that both China and Russia are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and major emerging markets.
On May 10, Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a five-day tour of Europe, after visiting France, Serbia and Hungary, where he touted Beijing’s vision of a multipolar world and held talks on trade, investments and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron feted Xi with gifts of luxury bottles of cognac and a trip to a childhood haunt in the Pyrenees mountains, while in Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic organised a grand welcome, gathering a crowd of tens of thousands of people, who chanted “China, China” and waved Chinese flags in front of the Serbian presidential palace.
Xi’s main aim with the visit, analysts say, was pushing for a world where the United States is less dominant, and controlling damage to China’s ties with the European Union as trade tensions grow amid a threat of European tariffs and a probe into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles that officials say are hurting local industries, Al Jazeera reported.
‘Russians, Chinese are brothers forever’
Meanwhile, on the closing day of his two-day China visit, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke highly of the people-to-people ties between the two countries, saying that the Russians and the Chinese are “brothers forever.”
Weighing in on the relations between Moscow and Beijing, the Russian President compared it to a song from the 1940s.
Speaking ahead of a concert dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the start of the Cross-Cultural Years, Putin expressed confidence in the continuation of cordial ties between the two countries.
“The event is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. There is a famous song from that time, it was created 75 years ago, but is often sung today: there is a quite famous line in it: ‘Russian and Chinese are brothers forever,” Putin said.
He further expressed confidence in boosting the fraternal, spirit of the Russia-China partnership, according to TASS.
“I am sure that we will continue to strengthen the fraternal spirit of the harmonious Russian-Chinese partnership,” the Russian President said.
The audience, whom the Russian President addressed in Russian before a Chinese translation followed, applauded Putin’s speech on both occasions.
On Friday, Putin arrived in Harbin, the second city the Russian President was scheduled to be in on his State visit to China, reported TASS.
The Russian President opened the 8th Russian-Chinese Expo and the 4th Russia-China Forum on Interregional Cooperation in Harbin. The visit followed an extremely busy day in Beijing where Putin held several rounds of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the state news agency reported.
The two leaders discussed Russian-Chinese relations and the pressing international issues, according to TASS.
The Russian President is also expected to visit the capital of China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province, where he will attend trade and cooperation forums.
The region, historically plagued by border tensions between China and Russia, has seen increased connectivity in recent years, fostering closer economic and cultural ties between the two neighbours, according to TASS. (ANI)
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