US says China urging de-escalation over Ukraine as Europe conflict may impact its interest

The United States is of the opinion that China wants to de-escalate tensions along the Ukraine-Russia border since a conflict in Europe could have a negative impact on its interests, a US administration official said, under the conditions of anonymity. Speaking to Sputnik, the senior official suggested that Beijing is not just concerned about the Olympics, but an overall "devastating" aftermath in case Russia invades Ukraine. Urging Beijing to pitch upholding the "path of diplomacy" to Russia, the diplomat said, "we hope Chins will be speaking for their principles."

"I would certainly suggest that it is not in China's interest to see a conflict in this situation, not just because of the Olympics, but I think more broadly the impact of a devastating conflict in Europe would have on China's interests all over the world," the US official was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

Notably, China has strong economic partnerships with the European nations, including the European Union (EU). In 2020, Beijing surpassed the US by becoming the EU's largest trade partner. During 2009 and 2010, overall exports from the EU to China rose to 38% and China's exports bolstered to 31%. Thus, an attack on Ukraine will have a rippling effect on Europe and its trading partners by disrupting supply chains, geopolitical dynamics, and in turn the global economy, experts suggest, as reported by CNN.

Referring to the upcoming UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Monday, the diplomat also said "we hope China... speaks on the importance of upholding these principles on Monday as well." US and China have been "engaged in discussions" over broiling matters along the Ukraine-Russia border in the Donbas region, where Moscow has amassed over 1,00,000 troops, indicating the "preparedness" of Russia to invade Kyiv. Although Russia only views the accusation as a pretext for deployment of NATO forces and armaments close to western Russian borders, Western defence forces have reported increased radio "chatter" linking to a purported attack. Meanwhile, Ukraine is downplaying the threats, even if the officials are scrambling to find a diplomatic solution over intel from US intelligence suggesting precarious war. 

China alerts US of 'security risks' from Russian aggression

It is pertinent to mention that the Sputnik report comes two days after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to US State Secretary Antony Blinken over a phone call, emphasising on security risks from Russian aggression. As per China's foreign ministry, Yi urged "all parties to stay calm and refrain from doing things that agitate tension or hyper up the crisis," while speaking to Blinken. On the other hand, the US State Secretary emphasised the importance of "de-escalation and diplomacy are the responsible way forward" to deter potential infringement of Ukrainian borders by Russia. In reply, Wang, in an apparent reference to Russia's objection to NATO's expansion of the bloc in eastern Europe, told Blinken that "one country's security cannot be at the expense of the security of others." He went on to add: "regional security (of Ukraine) cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or expanding military alliances."

The meeting came a day after China slammed US media for running a smear campaign by using "despicable and futile" tricks to "drive a wedge" between Moscow and Beijing. Speaking at a press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian affirmed "mature" Beijing-Moscow relations, trying to poke which means interfering with and sabotaging the international equation. The accusations came after a US-based media claimed that China had allegedly called Kremlin, requesting the latter to refrain from invading Ukraine during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

(Image: AP)