The United States of America and China: A Strategic Strategic Strategy in the 21-Month Term of Biden’s Term in office

Communication between the leadership of China and the US could be critical in order to avoid a clash of naval forces in the South China Sea. Biden has a place in Beijing where he can talk to his counterpart, especially since he knows how important it will be for the Chinese state to have a trusted friend like him. The lack of communication between the leaders of Russia and the West is what is making the standoff so dangerous.

The document is 21 months into Biden’s term. There has been evidence of the strategy over the course of the President’s tenure.

Speaking to reporters, Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the strategy made clear the White House wasn’t viewing the world “solely through the prism of strategic competition.”

“We will not leave our future vulnerable to the whims of those who do not share our vision for a world that is free, open, prosperous, and secure,” he goes on. “As the world continues to navigate the lingering impacts of the pandemic and global economic uncertainty, there is no nation better positioned to lead with strength and purpose than the United States of America.”

China has repeatedly refused to condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. In the late 90’s, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart that their relationship was more important than ever because of the pressure from the West. According to Chinese state media, President Xi told Putin that the two countries needed to strengthen strategic coordination andject more stability into the world.

“This decisive decade is critical both for defining the terms of competition, particular with the (People’s Republic of China), and for getting ahead of massive challenges that if we lose the time this decade we will not be able to keep pace with,” he said.

War in Ukraine and the High-Intensity War – Mark Milley’s Remarks at the Economic Club of New York

During internal conversations about the war in Ukraine, America’s top general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, has in recent weeks led a strong push to seek a diplomatic solution as fighting heads toward a winter lull.

A debate is raging inside of the administration over whether the recent gains on the battlefield should lead to a renewed effort to negotiate an end to the fighting.

As Ukranian takes back the city of Kherson, there has been a push for peace by Milley. The Economic Club of New York was the site of comments made by Milley on Wednesday.

The comments left administration officials unsurprised – given Milley’s advocacy for the position internally – but also raised concerned among some about the administration appearing divided in the eyes of the Kremlin.

The Russian leader will likely be watching rising opposition to Biden’s involvement in the war among conservatives in the US. On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the future of Ukraine would not be a priority for him in the White House. Biden stood with Ukrainians on the same day that DeSantis said the future of Ukraine would not be a priority.

In internal deliberations, officials said Milley has sought to make it clear that he is not urging a Ukrainian capitulation, but rather that he believes now is an optimal time to drive toward an end to the war before it drags into spring or beyond, leading to more death and destruction without changing the front lines.

That view isn’t widespread across the administration. The State Department is located on the opposite side of the pole from Milley. That dynamic has led to a unique situation where military brass are more fervently pushing for diplomacy than US diplomats.

Milley’s position comes as the US military has dug deep into US weapons stockpiles to support the Ukrainians and is currently scouring the globe for materials to support Ukraine heading into winter – such as heaters and generators – which has raised concerns about how long this war can be sustained, officials said.

The US intends to buy 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition from South Korean arms manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, a US official said, part of a broader effort to find available weaponry for the high-intensity battles unfolding in Ukraine. The 100,000 rounds of 155mm howitzer ammunition the US will purchase is going to be sent to Ukraine via the US.

Do we need a diplomatic solution to the US-Russia tension? Rejoinder of Biden and Xi Jinping at the G20 summit

State Department spokesperson Ned Price would not say Thursday whether the State Department agrees with Milley’s position. Instead, Price deflected to a position that US officials have often made in recent months: the US sides with Zelensky who has said that a diplomatic solution is needed.

“It can’t simply be a cynical ceasefire that allows the Russians the time to go home, rest, refit and return,” Nuland said. I think we would all applaud if it was possible to get Putin out of Ukraine.

Sullivan said in a recent visit to Ukraine that the United States would remain with the country for as long as necessary. “There will be no wavering, no flagging, no flinching in our support as we go forward.”

It took two years after Joe Biden was elected US President before the leaders of the world’s two most powerful countries could finally speak in person, but when Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping finally met in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit, the timing could not have been any better for the United States, for democracy and for the world.

There will be another honest exchange between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit on Monday. But the mood in the room is unlikely to be as balmy as the surrounding location.

Biden, meanwhile, arrived in Asia following a better-than-expected performance by his party in the US midterm elections – with the Democrats projected to keep the Senate in a major victory. Asked Sunday whether the results allowed him to go into Monday’s face-to-face with a stronger hand, Biden voiced confidence. He told reporters that he was coming in stronger.

Keeping the Conversation Open: The Case for a Realignment of Power in the Xi Jinping–Wang–Delta Relationship

Two nuclear powers promised to have a relationship with no limits and in a show of unity. It looked like a pivotal moment in a global realignment of power.

The problem with China is they don’t want to meet and exchange views. Xi Jinping is not very creative in the way he interacts with his counterparts,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University.

A senior White House official said Biden wants to build a floor for the relationship and prevent it from falling into open conflict. The main objective of the sit-down is not about reaching agreements or deliverables – the two leaders will not release any joint statement afterward – but about gaining a better understanding of each other’s priorities and reducing misconceptions, according to the US official.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan reinforced the message Saturday to reporters aboard Air Force One, noting the meeting is unlikely to result in any major breakthroughs or dramatic shifts in the relationship.

Hopes for a reset with Washington are similarly low in Beijing. Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said that he believed that the meeting could lead to a significant improvement in bilateral ties.

Kennedy, who recently returned from a weeks-long visit to China, said that both sides blamed each other for the state of the relationship and both wanted to improve it.

“The Chinese think they’re winning, the Americans think they’re winning, and so they’re willing to bear these costs. Kennedy said that the other side is unlikely to make any significant changes. All of those things can reduce the likelihood of significant adjustments.

The very fact that the two leaders are having a conversation is a positive development, experts say. Keeping dialogue open is crucial for reducing risks of misunderstanding and miscalculations, especially when suspicions run deep and tensions run high.

It is more important than ever, given that Xi has just secured a norm-breaking third term with a tighter grip on power and a chance to rule for life. “There is no one else in their system who can really communicate authoritatively other than Xi Jinping,” national security adviser Sullivan said.

Biden said after the talks that he didn’t find Xi “more confrontational or more conciliatory. I found him the way he’s always been: Direct and straightforward. Is that true? We were clear with one another about places they disagreed and where they weren’t sure about each other.

I would love to be able to see that discussion because I believe that the US and China have not been very precise about their red lines. And I also don’t think either has been very clear about what positive rewards the other side would reap from staying within those red lines,” said Kennedy, of CSIS.

China regards the “Taiwan question” an internal matter. It’s the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations and it is the very core of China’s core interests.

China has repeatedly accused the US of “playing with fire” and hollowing out the “one China” policy. Beijing’s anger reached a boiling point in August, when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi brushed aside its stern warnings and landed in Taipei for a high-profile visit.

China retaliated by launching large scale military exercises around Taiwan that caused an effective blockade and subsequently halted dialogue with the US in a variety of areas, including military, climate change and cross-border crime.

Now the two leaders are sitting down in the same room – a result of weeks of intensive discussions between the two sides – Taiwan is widely expected to top their agenda. barbs have already been traded in the issue.

Is he willing to compromise on certain issues? Biden told reporters that he thought his meeting with Xi was positive. We disagreed with each other, and we were very blunt with one another.

That plan drew immediate condemnation from Beijing. It’s egregious in nature. China is firmly opposed to it,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Friday, shortly after the ministry confirmed that Xi would meet Biden at the G20.

Some progress on greater communication and access between China and the US will be seen as a positive outcome, including restoring the suspended climate and military talks.

The summit in Indonesia yielded two important outcomes, according to the US: A joint position that Russia must not use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine and an expected resumption of talks on climate between American and Chinese negotiators, a boost for the COP 27 global climate conference in Egypt.

The US statement that China and the US agreed that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and their opposition to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine was important.

Leon Panetta is a former CIA chief and White House chief of staff who dealt with US/China relations for decades.

If the result of the meeting is to make the relationship back on a more diplomatic plane, we could begin a dialogue about the issues that need to be dealt with, Panetta told CNN.

China vs. Russia in the Early Stages of the Cold War: A Brief Observation of Biden’s First Congressional Conference

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said neither side should attempt to remold the other or try to subvert the other’s system.

That means making sure that Russia doesn’t win in Ukraine, but also prying apart Moscow and Beijing (echoing then-President Richard Nixon in the 1970s) and countering China’s efforts to forge stronger bonds with Iran.

The day after that in Beijing, there were smiles on Putin’s face and that is when things really started to change. The war shows that democracies need to keep antidemocratic regimes away from each other, and that they have to fight back against them.

The two met for the first time since Biden became president. Analysts say that it took place after the leaders strengthened their political positions.

According to a Chatham House research fellow, Yu Jie, Biden’s success in the mid-terms gave him a better position to steer Washington’s relationship with Beijing.

Yu warns that Monday’s meeting isn’t a good way to improve relations since it doesn’t resolve any grievances between the two sides.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the issue when he met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Saturday on the sidelines of the conference, officials said.

The U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed despite the meeting of Xi with China’s Foreign Minister Hua Chunying

From Beijing’s perspective, the U.S. has since done the opposite on all counts. It has imposed the semiconductor export bans and sanctioned some of China’s leading technology firms — moves Beijing decried.

“The world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together,” tweeted Hua Chunying, a foreign ministry spokesperson who accompanied Xi in his meeting with Biden.

On Taiwan, despite intense media speculation over Beijing’s intention, Biden said he did “not think there’s any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan.”

The president objected to the actions of Beijing in the Taiwan Strait and in the region, stating that they undermined peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and in the region, and jeopardized global prosperity.

China is watching closely, too. Going forward, the island of Taiwan will be a priority for China’s fighting forces according to the new military leaders appointed by the president. He urged his military to be focused on fighting.

The US has recently begun seeing “disturbing” trendlines in China’s support for Russia’s military and there are signs that Beijing wants to “creep up to the line” of providing lethal military aid to Russia without getting caught, US officials familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

China did little to support Russia, and Putin admitted that he had concerns about China during their second meeting in September. Recently, after the Russian President threatened to use nuclear weapons, the Chinese President rebuked him.

Last year, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi put out three core demands — “bottom lines” — that China wanted the U.S. to agree to in order for relations to improve: to not get in the way in the country’s development, to respect China’s claims over places like Taiwan and to respect Beijing’s Communist Party rule.

The U.S. has improved its relationship with Taiwan, with lawmakers including Pelosi visiting the island in August. The island is at American expense and Congress is considering taking the U.S. weapons cache to arm it. The U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed despite the meeting between Biden and China’s leader, the congressman said in the press conference.

Hang Seng Index, China’s Economic Stability, and Wall Street Commodities: Analysis of the U.S.-China G20 Meeting

Biden came in to the G20 with a better position, but he’s not up for reelection until two years from now.

Analysts said the meeting could lay the groundwork for stronger ties between the world’s top economic powerhouses. The stock markets in Hong Kong and mainland China were higher due to the strength of the Chinese currency.

Neil Thomas, senior analyst for China and Northeast Asia at Eurasia Group, said the goal of the meeting was to “build a floor” under declining relations between Beijing and Washington.

Ken Cheung, chief Asian foreign exchange strategist at Mizuho Bank, said the meeting was a positive sign that the two sides were keen to find common ground.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng

            (HSI) Index rallied nearly 4% on Tuesday, on track to record a third straight day of gains. The index soared after China shifted its policy to gradually reopening borders and put a rescue package in place for the property sector.

Growing tensions abroad and a regulatory backlash at home drove Chinese technology shares higher on Tuesday. Alibaba shares shot up by 11% in Hong Kong, followed by Tencent, which was up 10%.

Biden’s reiteration of the US position on Taiwan and its “One China” policy was helpful, they said, as was Xi speaking out against the use of nuclear weapons by Russia.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/business/us-china-g20-meeting-stronger-ties-intl-hnk/index.html

What Biden and Xi (Major) Netanyahu (Meanwhile Russia) Had to Tell Us About the G20 Summit

“This was far more progress than we, or indeed most commentators had expected, and dominates what may otherwise turn out to have been a fairly irrelevant G20 summit,” the ING analysts said.

Former CNN producer and correspondent Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist. She writes for CNN, The Washington Post and World Politics Review. Her views are not shared in this commentary. CNN has more opinions on it.

The idea of a global contest between democracies and autocracies was intangible when Biden was running for president. Now it is all too real.

The president of Ukraine made an emotional return to the devastated city of Kherson as he met with Biden and the Chinese leader.

Back then, on the opening day of the Winter Olympics, Putin and Xi declared the two countries had a friendship with “no limits,” with no “forbidden areas of cooperation.” Twenty days later, after months of denying any intention to invade Ukraine, Russian troops crossed Ukraine’s borders in what they — and much of the world — expected would be a quick operation to conquer the fledgling democracy next door.

Putin and Xi, the world’s leading autocrats, looked ascendant, unstoppable even. Meanwhile, Western democracies appeared unsettled, roiled by sometimes violent protests against Covid-19 restrictions. Putin was preparing for triumph in Ukraine. Xi was hosting the Olympics, basking in attention, and preparing to solidify his control of China.

In terms of presidential stagecraft, Biden overshadowed Putin this week, with his daring overnight train journey into Kyiv and speech in the Polish capital, a location chosen for its role on NATO’s frontline. The address to the Russian parliament was very boring and had a lot of conspiracy theories about the West.

Putin was not going to attend the G20 summit in Indonesia because he became a pariah around the world.

The World Needs a War: From Biden to Zelensky, and From Beijing to the Final Line of World Warfare

Biden isn’t the only leader with a strong hand. Xi has just secured his third term as China’s leader who can now rule for as long as he wants. He doesn’t have to worry about elections, a critical press or an opposition party. He is the ruler of a mighty country for many years to come.

Mr. Wang’s entreaties came after China’s leader, Xi Jinping, ended his “zero Covid” policy this winter, paving the way for the country to step back into the spotlight on the world stage. The Chinese government is grappling with a slowing economy and is seeking to bolster trade ties with Europe, amid animosity fueled in part by China’s diplomatic support of Russia.

Also crucial in the epochal competition between the two systems is showing that democracy works, defeating efforts of autocratic countries such as China and Russia to discredit it and proving that unprovoked wars of aggression, aimed at suppressing democracy and conquering territory, will not succeed.

Three-hundred days after his country was invaded by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky jetted to Washington, DC, for talks on what the next 300 days might bring.

Shrouded in secrecy until the last minute, the historic visit was heavy with symbolism, from Zelensky’s drab green sweatshirt to President Joe Biden’s blue-and-yellow striped tie to the Ukrainian battle flag unfurled on the House floor.

But the trip was about far more than symbols. If Biden didn’t believe that something real could be accomplished by meeting face-to-face rather than over the phone, he wouldn’t invite Zelensky to Washington.

Emerging from their talks, both men made clear they see the war entering a new phase. Fears are growing that there isn’t going to be a win in the war as Russia wages a brutal air campaign against civilian targets.

But on Wednesday, Zelensky used bellicose rhetoric that suggested such a peace was not close, saying the road to ending the war would not involve making concessions to Russia.

“For me as a president, ‘just peace’ is no compromises,” he said, indicating he doesn’t see any road to peace that involves Ukraine giving up territory or sovereignty.

Zelenskyy proposed a 10-point peace formula at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia in November 2015, which included the restoration ofUkraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners and a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression.

Yet it doesn’t take much to see tensions just beneath the surface. Zelensky has consistently agitated for additional US support, despite the tens of billions of dollars in military assistance that Biden has directed to his country.

Biden said it was up to Zelensky to decide how he wanted the war to end.

Zelensky peppered his address to lawmakers with references to American history, from the critical Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War to the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

He delivered his address in English, a purposeful choice he telegraphed ahead of the speech. Even his attire – the now-familiar Army green shirt, cargo pants and boots – seemed designed to remind his audience they were in the presence of a wartime leader.

Zelensky, America, is Coming: Why the U.S. is donating $2 billion to Ukraine for the reconstruction of a democracy built by the Second World War

Over the course of the conflict, Zelensky has demonstrated an acute ability to appeal to his audience, be they national legislatures or the audience of the Grammys.

On Wednesday, he sought to harness Americans’ emotional response to his country’s suffering, evoking dark winter nights as Russia seeks to interrupt Ukraine’s power supply.

We will celebrate Christmas in two days. Maybe it’s a candle. He stated that there will not be electricity, but that it is more romantic than that.

Many Americans, including some Republicans, have wondered aloud why billions of US dollars are needed for a conflict thousands of miles away. The cause was more important to him than his homeland.

Zelensky has been asking for the new air defense system for months, and the Biden administration just said it was sending $2 billion to Ukraine.

Zelensky’s candid request for more Patriots – and Biden’s lighthearted response – amounted to a window into one of the world’s most complicated relationships.

The relationship between Biden and Zelensky has kept their friendship going. Zelensky praised Biden while he was in the East Room to Capitol Hill.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/21/politics/takeaways-volodymyr-zelensky-visit-to-washington/index.html

Ukrain vs. Ukraine: How much help does a country need to win the war? An interview with Vladimir Kuleba

“It is all about looking someone in the eye. I mean it sincerely. He doesn’t think there is any substitute for looking into a foe’s eye and sitting down with a friend.

In Washington, Republicans poised to take control of Congress have made clear they won’t rubber stamp each of Biden’s requests for Ukraine assistance – though fears funding will dry up completely appear unfounded. Congress is on the verge of approving almost $50 billion in additional security and economic assistance.

He said it was important to hear directly from the President about the fight between the two countries.

A peace summit is planned by the end of February, which would coincide with the anniversary of the war in Russia, according to the Ukrainian foreign minister.

Asked about whether they would invite Russia to the summit, he said that Moscow would first need to face prosecution for war crimes at an international court.

Kuleba said he was pleased with the outcome of Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. last week and also that the U.S. government had made a plan to get the Patriot missile battery ready to be operational. It takes up to a year to train.

Kuleba said during the interview that diplomacy always plays an important role, adding that it would be impossible for Ukrainians to win the war by themselves.

Vladimir Kuleba, a Russian diplomat in the United States and his role in the U.N. Security Council: “Tomorrow is coming,” he added

The United Nations could possibly be the best place for the summit because it is not about making a favor to one country. “This is really about bringing everyone on board.”

Kuleba said that the man of principle and integrity has proven himself to be an efficient mediator and an efficient negotiator. We would be glad to have his active participation.

“They regularly say that they are ready for negotiations, which is not true, because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite,” he said.

Zelenskyy went to the United States for the first time since the war started. Kuleba appreciated Washington’s efforts and the significance of them.

Kuleba said that this showed how important the US is to both Ukraine and the United States.

He said that the U.S. government developed a program for the missile battery to complete the training faster than usual “without any damage to the quality of the use of this weapon on the battlefield.”

While Kuleba didn’t mention a specific time frame, he said only that it will be “very much less than six months.” And he added that the training will be done “outside” Ukraine.

Kuleba has been second only to Zelenskyy in carrying out the message of Ukraine during Russia’s air war against it.

Ukranian called on the United Nations to strip Russia of its permanent membership on the Security Council and exclude it from the world body. Kuleba said they have been prepared for this step for a long time.

The Foreign Ministry says that in order to join the U.N. Security Council, a legal procedure had to be followed.

Is Xi in or out with Putin? Beijing’s response to the Washington Post-Biden invasion warning is deeply troubling

The US must aim to prevent the creation of a unified force of aggressive antidemocratic regimes, in addition to fortifying NATO and bolstering alliances, which President Joe Biden has accomplished with great success.

But the rule of the strongest doesn’t work when you can’t win, which is how Russia’s plans started to unravel, and China had to rethink its commitment.

Is Xi in or out with Putin? Xi seems to want it both ways. He wants the relationship to be with a country that invaded its neighbor without provocation, but he wants to use it as an example for other countries to follow.

According to US intelligence, Russia has bought artillery shells from North Korea, another notorious dictatorship, which denies its involvement in a war whose morality is beyond the pale.

Russia has killed Ukrainian civilians and destroyed its infrastructure with the help of Iranian drones. Tehran denied it was giving weapons to Russia.

Iran, which has become a pariah to much of the world due to its repressive interventionist regime, is now being courted by both Moscow and Beijing.

Sitting with Raisi, he declared that China will strengthen its relations with Iran no matter what. Still, recall the “no limits” pledge to Russia. Xi’s vows can prove more conditional than they sound.

The Beijing-Tehran ties have raised alarms among both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, who fear China’s support could help Tehran evade sanctions related to its nuclear and conventional weapons programs, support for terrorism and human rights abuses.

Clearly, there’s an internal contradiction in Xi’s dual goals. It is hard to create and establish an alliance of rule breaking autocrats and other dictators in order to increase your stature as a respected global leader.

Territorial and sovereignty integrity of all countries will be respected in China’s proposal, Wang said, adding that Beijing will continue to work for peace.

Mr. Wang has reflected China’s efforts to maintain Beijing’s close strategic alignment with Moscow in his public comments.

Europe needs more proof that China is not working with Russia, according to the president of the European Commission.

In September 2022, Putin conceded Beijing had “questions and concerns” over the invasion, in what appeared to be a veiled admission of diverging views on the war.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi has arrived in Moscow and will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday, according to Russian state news agency TASS, citing the Russian foreign ministry on Tuesday.

The Beijing-China Warfare and the High-Altitude Snooping: A Russian-U.S. Observation

US officials have been concerned enough with the intelligence that they shared it with allies and partners in Munich, according to CNN reporting. In a meeting with Wang on the sidelines of the conference Saturday, Blinken also raised the issue and warned Wang about its “implications and consequences,” according to a US readout.

“The Secretary was quite blunt in warning about the implications and consequences of China providing material support to Russia or assisting Russia with systematic sanctions evasion,” a senior State Department official told reporters.

The warfare cannot continue. We need to think about what efforts we can make to bring this warfare to an end,” Wang said at the conference.

Multiple sources told CNN the equipment includes items like flak jackets and helmets. China has not given the lethal weapons systems that Russia requested because they don’t want to be seen as a pariah on the world stage, officials said.

“We have made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship, that information we have, that they’re considering providing lethal support, so we’re worried about that.”

Biden administration officials are warning the public and private that the US is keeping tabs on any violations of western sanctions prohibiting military support for Russia, in light of the signs that Beijing could now be considering it.

Putin welcomed Wang and said that relations between Beijing and Moscow were reaching new Milestones.

The United States will not stand for any violation of our sovereignty and that the P.R.C.’s high- altitude snooping will result in consequences, according to the State Department description.

After the meeting between Washington and Beijing broke down over the balloon incident, the U.S. description did not state how the Chinese official responded. The official Chinese state media described an equally sharp exchange.

China said that the balloon was a weather craft that had gone astray. But in the following days — especially after the U.S. military identified and shot down three other objects that it now concedes were probably innocuous craft — Beijing’s tone hardened.

The handling of the balloon episode only highlighted how the two countries had failed, according to many at the Munich Security Conference, who expressed concerns that the president often talks about aspiring to a relationship that is vigorous competition but not conflict.

The U.S. Army and China aren’t Ready to Embrace Cold War Two-Party Warfare, but They Are Bringing Peace to Europe

The U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard have since recovered much of the balloon’s equipment — contained in a payload about the size of a small regional airliner — and American officials have said they intend to make public details about the sensors they found. Officials have stated the craft was visible even though China claimed it was a weather balloon.

That phrase was notable because Mr. Wang said at the conference that the Cold War mentality was back in global affairs.

Despite the pointed rhetoric, said Danny Russel, a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, an independent research organization, “the fact that the meeting occurred and that both sides can claim to have delivered their points on the spy balloon may help the two sides put the incident behind them and move on to rescheduling Blinken’s trip to Beijing — which is where the real work needs to get done.”

Mr. Wang also met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on the sidelines of the Munich conference on Saturday, and afterward, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said on Twitter that China was “ready to fully resume exchanges with Germany and other European countries in various fields.”

As US President Joe Biden touched down in Ukraine to meet with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, China’s top diplomat was traveling in the opposite direction, on his way to Russia.

The optics of the two trips – taking place just days before the one-year anniversary of the brutal war on Friday – underscores the sharpening of geopolitical fault lines between the world’s two superpowers.

“We do not add fuel to the fire, and we’re against reaping benefits from this crisis,” Wang said in a thinly veiled dig at the US, echoing the propaganda messaging that regularly made China’s nightly prime-time news program – that the US is intentionally prolonging the war because its arms manufacturers are earning fat profits from weapon sales.

Some people might not want to see peace talks happen. They are not interested in the life of Ukrainians or the harm on Europe. They may have goals that are bigger than the country itself. Wang said that warfare must not continue.

He wants European officials to think about how they can help bring lasting peace to Europe.

“Who is calling for dialogue and peace? And who is handing out knives and encouraging confrontation? The international community can see clearly,” the spokesperson said.

Cold War in Ukraine: The Challenge for the U.S. and the Emerging Security Council to Resolve the Problems in the Cold War

Previously, Beijing had carefully avoided actions that could trigger secondary sanctions, which would deal a devastating blow to an economy hampered by three years of costly zero-Covid policy.

Though Beijing claimed impartiality in the conflict and no advance knowledge of Russia’s intent, it has refused to condemn Moscow and parroted Kremlin lines blaming NATO for provoking the conflict.

And while Beijing’s pro-Russian rhetoric appears to have softened in recent months, its support for Moscow – when measured by its annual trade, diplomatic engagements and schedule of joint military exercises – has bolstered over the past year.

There are always opportunities for crises in both nations, and the latter could potentially turn into the former.

Biden was in Ukraine on Monday and spoke in Warsaw the next day, making clear that the west still supports the resistance to Russia by the country.

The new and complicated foreign policy picture is more than just a problem for American diplomats. The recent loss of US and Western weaponry to Ukraine questions whether the current spending on defense is sufficient. Key Republicans meanwhile are accusing Biden of snubbing voters facing economic and other problems, even as he tries to position Democrats as the protectors of working Americans as the 2024 campaign dawns.

The Ukrainian people love their country and the lust of President Putin will fail, according to Biden.

That may be the case. But Putin made clear in his speech that there was no prospect of the war ending soon. In telling Russians the conflict was critical to their own nation’s existence and part of an effort by the West to attack Russia, he set the stage for months more bloodshed and narrowed even further already distant avenues for some kind of face-saving exit if Russia does not prevail.

Putin is living in an alternate reality according to Western ears. And Biden contradicted his claims of Western imperialism, saying, “I speak once more to the people of Russia. The United States and Europe don’t want to control or destroy Russia. The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today.”

The fear ofRussia going into NATO has not come close to happening, according to the person. They have shown that they are a third-rate military power.

Wang Yi, US Ambassador to the UN, and the U.S. Embedding of the New START Nuclear Treaty with the United States

Biden’s trip also demonstrated that the estrangement between the US and Russia – a factor that will shape global politics for years – is almost complete.

The New START nuclear treaty with the United States will be suspended by Russia according to Putin. It was not clear what practical impact this would have since Moscow has stopped fully implementing the deal.

Russia lacks resources to begin a new nuclear arms race with the US because of its economy being in a tough spot and its forces under pressure. But the collapse of one of the last building blocks of a post-Cold War thaw between Russia and the US exemplifies the almost total lack of communication between the rivals.

The Biden administration accuses Russia of committing crimes against humanity, which makes it impossible for Washington and Moscow to return to normal relations if the war in Ukraine continues.

The US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned on CNN that such a step would cross a United States red line and that there could be consequences.

The photograph was provided by the Russian state media and shows Wang Yi, a Chinese Foreign Policy official, and Putin.

According to Mr. Putin, the total trade volume between Russia and China could surpass $200 billion by the end of the year, more than triple last year’s figure.

Mr. Putin said that everything is moving forward and reaching new frontiers. We are talking about economic issues.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi previewed the plan during his speech at the Munich Security Conference. After Wang traveled to Moscow later this week, however, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said he had not discussed the reported plan with China’s top diplomat.

The Biden administration is expecting China to put a peace plan on the table Friday with their ideas for resolving Russia’s war in Ukraine, a US State Department official said Thursday.

Nuland did not reveal how the Chinese will present the plan. There is a meeting tomorrow of the UN Security Council where China could plausibly make this presentation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be at the meeting.