China holds internal meeting with top bank officials amid fears of potential US sanctions

In a key development, China conducted an internal meeting with officials from foreign and domestic banks to examine measures to protect overseas assets from possible sanctions by the United States. As per reports, the emergency meeting was held on April 22 with officials from the finance ministry, China's central bank, as well as international and domestic bank CEOs in attendance. "If China attacks Taiwan, decoupling of the Chinese and western economies will be far more severe than [decoupling with] Russia, because China's economic footprint touches every part of the world," said one of the officials, who attended the meeting, to British daily The Financial Times, ANI reported.

As per the report, the ability of Washington and its allies to freeze the Russian central bank's dollar holdings had alerted Beijing. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities are concerned that such measures could be used against them in the case of a regional armed confrontation or other crises. The British daily further reported that a prospective invasion of Taiwan could trigger the US to impose sanctions against China. 

China criticises US for maintaining official ties with Taiwan 

China has often chastised the United States for maintaining official ties with Taiwan, claiming that such activities violate China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and contribute to regional instability. Earlier on Friday, April 29, the Chinese embassy in Washington stated that the situations in Ukraine and Taiwan are fundamentally different, and attempts by the US to draw comparisons between them are merely attempting to mislead the public. Furthermore, it highlighted a "new wave" of tension on the island, accusing the Biden administration of using the matter of Taiwan's independence to contain China.

Taiwan bolsters ties with US & other democracies to counter Chinese aggression

It is pertinent to mention here that China asserts absolute sovereignty over Taiwan, despite the island's self-government for more than seven decades. Taipei, on the other hand, has countered Chinese aggression by strengthening strategic ties with democracies, particularly the United States, which China frequently opposes. Last month, the US also approved the sale of training and equipment worth up to $95 million (over Rs 700 crores) to support Taiwan's Patriot missile defence system. According to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the package would comprise training, planning, fielding, deployment, operation, maintenance and associated equipment for the Patriot Air Defense System.

(With inputs from ANI)

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