Beijing
\nBeijing will \u201cresolutely counter\u201d U.S. pressure on tariffs and the fentanyl issue, China\u2019s foreign minister said on Friday, adding that major powers \u201cshould not bully the weak\u201d, in a veiled swipe at the Trump administration\u2019s foreign policy.
\nChina also presented itself as a reliable global power in the midst of geopolitical turmoil and U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s withdrawal from international institutions, part of a clear appeal from Beijing to Europe and countries in the Global South.
\nThe U.S. levied an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports this week over the continued flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the country, threatening to worsen an escalatory spiral of trade actions.
\n\u201cIf one side blindly exerts pressure, China will resolutely counter that,\u201d Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a briefing on the sidelines of China\u2019s annual parliamentary meeting.
\nThe U.S. \u201cshould not repay kindness with grievances, let alone impose tariffs without reason,\u201d Wang added, referring to the \u201cvarious assistance\u201d Beijing has provided Washington over the years on tackling the flow of fentanyl precursor drugs into the U.S.
\nWang\u2019s relatively subdued remarks on the U.S., without mentioning Trump once by name, suggested Beijing wishes to keep the prospect of potential future trade talks alive, said Wen-Ti Sung, a Taiwan-based nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council\u2019s Global China Hub.
\n\u201cThey want to pursue any room for de-escalation with Trump when it comes to trade,\u201d Sung said. \u201cOne way of doing it is to keep the level of rhetorical intensity down to manageable size to preserve room for manoeuvre for both sides.\u201d
\nUKRAINE STANCE
\nOn resolving the Ukraine war, China wants to achieve a \u201cfair, lasting and binding peace agreement\u201d acceptable to all parties, Wang Yi said.
\n\u201cChina is willing to continue to play a constructive role in the final resolution of the crisis and the realisation of lasting peace, in accordance with the wishes of the parties concerned, together with the international community.\u201d
\nWestern countries have urged Beijing to take a more active role in using its economic leverage over Russia to stop the war, but Beijing has so far refused to publicly criticise its strategic partner or halt its economic support of Moscow.
\nChina-Russia relations are a \u201cconstant in a turbulent world, not a variable in geopolitical games,\u201d Wang told the press conference.
\nChinese President Xi Jinping recently reaffirmed Beijing\u2019s \u201cno limits\u201d partnership with Moscow in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart on the third anniversary of Moscow\u2019s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
\nTrump has upended U.S. policy on Ukraine after taking office last month, showing a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has unnerved Washington\u2019s traditional allies in the West.
\nSecretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the Ukraine conflict is a \u201cproxy war\u201d between Washington and Moscow that needs to end, and has previously said that Washington wishes to \u201cpeel off\u201d Moscow from Beijing.
\nAnalysts say Beijing wishes to exploit the growing transatlantic rift to bolster its ties with European countries, which have been strained over Ukraine and trade tensions.
\n\u201cChina still has confidence in Europe, and believes Europe can still be China\u2019s trusted partner,\u201d Wang said.<\/p>\n
GLOBAL SOUTH
\nWang Yi also urged developing countries to \u201ccontinue to improve our representation and discourse power in global governance\u201d.
\n\u201cIf every country emphasizes its own national priorities and believes in strength and status, the world will regress to the law of the jungle, small and weak countries will bear the brunt,\u201d said Wang in a veiled reference to Washington\u2019s actions.
\n\u201cMajor powers \u2026 should not be profit-driven, and they should not bully the weak.\u201d
\nWithin the first two months of taking office, Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from several multilateral organisations and climate agreements, suspended most foreign aid, and voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia for the Ukraine invasion.
\n\u201cAt a time when the Trump administration\u2019s foreign policy is revising a lot of established expectations, China wants to present itself as preserving the status quo,\u201d said Sung, the analyst.
\n\u201cWhen the Global South sees a retrenching, inward-looking U.S., there\u2019s a fear of a strategic vacuum \u2013 one that China intends to help fill.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Beijing Beijing will \u201cresolutely counter\u201d U.S. pressure on tariffs and the fentanyl issue, China\u2019s foreign minister said on Friday, adding that major powers \u201cshould not bully the weak\u201d, in a veiled swipe at the Trump administration\u2019s foreign policy. China also presented itself as a reliable global power in the midst of geopolitical turmoil and U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-466026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n