Is Europe Too Stupid to Remain Gripped in the U.S. Deadly Embrace?

China must have used their diplomatic efforts to try and unravel the mysteries of how far the U.S. is ‘hell-bent’ on fueling further escalation of the European crisis.

Whilst having prepared the spectacular though perhaps somewhat sudden and unanticipated politics of reconciliation between the Saudi Arabia and Iran in utmost secrecy, at the anniversary of the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine on 24th February this year, China presented its plan consisting of 12 points to solve the other burning ongoing crisis as well. Russia did welcome the efforts gracefully though the West dismissed it (too) resentfully. In the said twelve points put forth by China, there was not anything too shocking therein to show just cause for such an adverse and hostile response coming from the Western ’proxy war’ instigators of the Ukraine crisis. Antony Blinken, U.S. State Secretary instead of radiating superb diplomacy, filled us in immediately in a very undiplomatic way that the world must not foolishly fall for a tactical move by Russia, which is supported by China. The Guardian reported that ‘Putin welcomes China’s controversial proposals for peace in Ukraine’ ‘the U.S. warns against ‘any tactical move by Russia to freeze the war on its own terms’ and the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, voiced skepticism over China’s “peace” proposals, warning that they could be a “stalling tactic” to help Russian troops on the ground in Ukraine.’

Foreign Policy magazine attributed even as many as ‘three hidden pitfalls’ in the Chinese alleged agenda with the observation that their 12-point peace plan in Ukraine has not much to do with peace, if at all. I presume ‘it takes one to know one’? Overwhelming distrust by the Collective West followed that the Chinese proposal contained something rather elusive. Yet the reason might be that for the West regardless of what they would report and respond to is shockingly undermining enough albeit any mention of any peace plan whatsoever. They would probably prefer the tragically gory perpetuity of a war. In any event, in line with the model already seen before more than a year ago when the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev generated as many as seventeen draft agreements, only for those to simply be ‘shredded to pieces and chucked in the Washington DC bin’ when the then British PM, Boris Johnson, suddenly popped over to Kiev on the 9th April in 2022. Apparently, embattled, bumbling Bo Jo was there to set out a new package of financial and military aid. The then PM of Israel Naftali Bennett, who was essentially the mediator in those prior negotiations confirmed that fact, too.

Nevertheless, China does not seem to be giving up on this count. Quite the contrary, these days the European tour of the special Chinese envoy, Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs since 2019, who visited Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, the EU seat in Brussels and Russia in the period between the 15th and 26th May to try and talk with all the parties (with vested interests and genuine concerns) about the 12 point peace plan which presupposes the respect for the sovereignty of all the countries besides a few humanitarian determinants therein and furthermore wholeheartedly recommends abandoning the Cold War mentality so that the legitimate interests and concerns of all the countries should seriously be taken into consideration and solved with the sustainable European architecture in focus and the continuous, mutual cooperation towards peace and stability on the Eurasian continent. The ‘cease in hostilities’ appeared to have been also factored in as well as the renewal of peace negotiations and the lifting of unilateral sanctions. Once this benign list of proposals was published, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a multi-day visit to Moscow which he and his Russian most courteous and welcoming host Vladimir Putin ended with the now famed message that the world is experiencing the tectonic changes which it has not seen before during the past century.

On a related note, there may be some use noting that a special Chinese envoy for the Ukraine Crisis (and a fluent Russian speaker) was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship in 2019 after having been in the position of Chinese Ambassador to Russia. It might be worth adding that he was in this position longer than any other Chinese diplomat before him. And one year afterwards, Russia and China officially agreed for the two countries (and lest we forget two great world powers) to continue their shoulder-to-shoulder, brothers-in-political-and-military arms partnership in their relentless efforts to fend off the bullying behaviour of ‘certain global hegemons’. At this point it is only too obvious who they were referring to.

Incidentally, such a solution put forth in the overwhelmingly modest and well balanced mediator in the Ukrainian crisis, is in line with the message which Beijing communicated to the official Washington DC, when Beijing placed Li Shangfu in the position of the new Chinese Defense Minister, who, suffice to say, happens to be under the sanctions of the USA currently. Li Shangfu’s new ministerial term in office began last month with the four – day long visit to Moscow and the meetings with the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergey Shoigu.

It is certainly intriguing for some of us what messages Li Hui and Li Shangfu may have brought to Europe and back home? Official press releases from the meetings are as per usual only too terse for the broader public to be able to draw any more concrete conclusions, except for the diplomatically courteous invitations to strengthen the strategic autonomy of Europe well communicated to the EU officials in Brussels. Yet, Wall Street Journal reported alleged details referring to the unnamed Western diplomats, who claim to be well informed about the talks Li Hui led during his European tour. Apparently, U.S. allies in Europe should reaffirm their autonomy and insist on the immediate ceasefire and urging Ukraine to leave behind its parts now belonging to Russia after the 2022 referendums. Wall Street Journal claims to have succinctly summed up Li’s clear message, by way of which he sent off a message to Europe that they should view China as their economic alternative to the USA and that the Russia – Ukraine conflict should be ended as soon as possible before it escalates further. This message was elaborated on that the European officials who appear to have aligned the messages by the Transatlantic Unity prior to this meeting with the Chinese official almost combatively responded that it was too early for the initiative by Bejing.

Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, was then addressed by a Reuters reporter to comment on Wall Street Journal’s report to what she replied that the official press releases contain the authentic information. Additionally, she noted that the Ukrainian Minister of the Foreign Affairs publicly said that he contacted the other parties and that none of the countries responded that Li Hui gave any statements whatsoever of which Wall Street Journal reported. The question remains why she did not on the very same occasion simply say that what Wall Street Journal wrote was untrue and that it was not the position of China on the matters? Strangely perhaps, she simply resorted to respond the way she did. It must be the Chinese good manners and superb skills of diplomacy the Global West should learn from, methinks.

This will surely remain open for further analyses and speculations. One cannot help wondering about the contents of the Chinese most probably perfectly decent proposals. and the manner the crumbling Global West is bound to respond any time soon.

This diplomatic mission to Europe was surely not sudden and not unanticipated at all given that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang visited France Norway and Germany earlier. Top officials from the United States, Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Adviser and Wang Yi on the part of China met in Vienna, Austria reached an agreement to maintain communication on the issues of national and international security, according to statements from the White House and the Chinese embassy. Both officials commented on the previously unannounced meeting as “candid, substantive and constructive.” The Sullivan-Wang discussions came after a meeting between U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns and China’s second highest diplomat, Qin Gang, also during the same week in early May.

Upon reflection, China must have used their diplomatic efforts to try and unravel the mysteries of how far the U.S. is ‘hell-bent’ on fueling further escalation of the European crisis. China is perfectly able to grasp that this is not merely a Ukrainian crisis per se but the crisis of Europe of greater proportions. This is the Europe which is fumbling in the political dark whilst losing its feet underneath on the sustainable and efficient security architecture front. With any further escalation of the war, Europe is bound to find itself in an ever more difficult and detrimental situation. One of the chief goals by China in these diplomatic pursuits must surely be to try and reawake genuine concerns that Europe must work hard at solving this abysmal crisis for Europe to wriggle itself out from the ‘deadly embrace’ of its unreliable and brutish ally across the Atlantic’

One wonders if there will be sufficient self-awareness and political power in the U.S. (and EU) to avert a looming Thucydides trap ahead. The U.S. dying beast is enraged enough. And very stupid too.

Original article: https://strategic-culture.org/news/2023/06/13/is-europe-too-stupid-remain-gripped-in-us-deadly-embrace/