{"id":1351463,"date":"2022-03-01T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1351463"},"modified":"2022-03-01T07:53:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T12:53:16","slug":"how-china-is-taking-advantage-of-the-ukraine-crisis-to-undermine-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-china-is-taking-advantage-of-the-ukraine-crisis-to-undermine-the-united-states\/","title":{"rendered":"How China Is Taking Advantage Of The Ukraine Crisis To Undermine The United States"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-china-is-taking-advantage-of-the-ukraine-crisis-to-undermine-the-united-states%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1351463&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>After months of buildup, Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun his long-planned invasion into Ukraine. While all eyes are on Russia and Ukraine, China has wasted no time taking advantage of the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>First, China made another show of force to Taiwan. A few hours after Russia\u2019s invasion began, Taiwan <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/international\/china\/595661-taiwan-reports-nine-chinese-aircraft-in-defense-zone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>\u00a0nine Chinese aircraft had entered its air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Even though China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) recently\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-07-07\/why-china-keeps-sending-warplanes-to-fly-near-taiwan-quicktake\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">increased both the frequency and the number of fighter jets<\/a>\u00a0it sent near Taiwan\u2019s ADIZ, the timing of the most recent incursion was unmistakably tied to Russia\u2019s invasion in Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>China\u2019s move on Taiwan serves multiple purposes. One is to fend off any international comparison of Taiwan and Ukraine. <\/p>\n<p>After British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed concerns that the outcome of the Ukraine crisis might affect the future of Taiwan, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/taiwan-says-must-raise-alertness-over-ukraine-crisis-2022-02-23\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">insisted<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cTaiwan is not Ukraine. Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China.\u201d Beijing reinforced this message by sending fighter jets to Taiwan\u2019s ADIZ as the Ukraine crisis unfolded, demonstrating that it will do whatever it wants to Taiwan, whenever it chooses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The PLA\u2019s show of force was also meant to intimidate both the Taiwanese and their government. As the rest of the world is witnessing bloodshed in Ukraine, Beijing wants to warn the Taiwanese that they could easily be next, so it is better to give up any resistance now.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"china-working-to-assist-russia-s-aggression\">China Working to Assist Russia\u2019s Aggression<\/h2>\n<p>Besides intimidating Taiwan, China quickly offered support to Putin\u2019s aggression through economic means, enhancing China\u2019s economy while bolstering Russia\u2019s economic dependency on China. <\/p>\n<p>Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi Xinping announced their alliance by issuing a defiant\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/en.kremlin.ru\/supplement\/5770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joint statement<\/a>\u00a0before the Beijing Winter Olympic Games\u2019 kickoff. They made it official that a new multipolar world order has arrived, in which Russia and China are united against the United States. Besides the joint statement, Xi and Putin\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/global-economy\/article\/3165873\/china-russia-enhance-growing-energy-partnership-gas-deal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signed<\/a>\u00a0several trade agreements, committing China to purchase a significant amount of agricultural and energy products from Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine began, China\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/china-economy\/article\/3168278\/ukraine-crisis-deepens-china-lifts-all-wheat-import\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>\u00a0it would lift all restrictions on wheat imports from Russia. Beijing previously imposed such restrictions due to concern about plant diseases in agricultural imports. Agricultural product exports play a vital role in Russia\u2019s economy and the nation is the world\u2019s largest wheat exporter. Amidst western sanctions, China\u2019s purchasing orders will provide some relief to Russia\u2019s economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Beijing didn\u2019t do it out of altruism. Due to environmental pollution, increasing demand from a growing population, and the supply chain affected by Beijing\u2019s \u201czero Covid-19\u201d restrictions, China has been facing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/11\/05\/economy\/china-food-security-mic-intl-hnk\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">food shortages<\/a>. Therefore, increasing food imports from Russia will help Beijing address food security.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"working-together-to-undermine-the-u-s\">Working Together to Undermine the U.S.<\/h2>\n<p>Stepping up wheat imports is only the beginning of the economic lifeline that China is supplying Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/biden-announces-stepped-sanctions-russian-banks-elites-putin\/story?id=83085065\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>\u00a0new sanctions on four large Russian banks and restrictions on certain Russian state-owned enterprises from raising money in international markets. These sanctions are unlikely to have a much-desired impact on Russia because Russia is increasingly relying on China\u2019s alternative banking and capital market systems through the Chinese currency-based payment system.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese leaders believe that to replace the United States as the sole world power, Chinese currency, yuan, must become a widely used international reserve currency like the U.S. dollar. China has encouraged foreign governments to use yuan for trade settlement and foreign companies to issue yuan-denominated debt in China\u2019s capital markets to facilitate the yuan\u2019s internationalization. In addition, China\u2019s central bank, the People\u2019s Bank of China, launched the first phase of the China International Payment System (CIPS) in 2015 to ease trade settlement and investment denominated in the yuan.<\/p>\n<p>Even before invading Ukraine, Russia had increased its reliance on Chinese currency and CIPS to blunt the financial sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies. The South China Morning Post\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/china-economy\/article\/3168278\/ukraine-crisis-deepens-china-lifts-all-wheat-import\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cabout 17.5 percent of trade between China and Russia was settled in yuan in 2020, marking a big increase from 3.1 percent in 2014.\u201d In addition, \u201cChinese currency accounted for 12.8 percent of Russian foreign exchange reserves in 2020 and 30.4 percent of its sovereign-wealth-fund holdings in July last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>China\u2019s ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/china-economy\/article\/3168278\/ukraine-crisis-deepens-china-lifts-all-wheat-import\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>\u00a0told a Russian TV station the day before Putin invaded Ukraine that China was \u201cpleased to see that its currency has been widely used in Russian trade, financial investments and foreign reserves.\u201d Zhang expected to see more yuan settlement in the two nations\u2019 energy deals.\u00a0These comments indicate China is taking advantage of the Ukraine crisis to speed up the yuan\u2019s internationalization and to position its own payment system as a viable alternative to the U.S. dollar-dominated international financial system.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"china-sees-russia-as-its-pawn\">China Sees Russia as its Pawn<\/h2>\n<p>Xi doesn\u2019t see Russia as an equal partner but as a valuable pawn to realize his vision for China \u2014 to replace the United States as the sole superpower in a Sino-centered and autocracy-friendly new world order. An economically weak but militarily aggressive Russia suits Xi\u2019s vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Xi deploys China\u2019s economic power to support Putin, counting on the Russian military to keep the West, primarily the United States, occupied and to draw attention away from Beijing\u2019s geopolitical expansion. Meanwhile, the more Russia is economically isolated from the western world due to sanctions and becomes more economically dependent on China, the less likely Putin\u2019s Russia will present a threat to challenge China\u2019s dominance.<\/p>\n<p>Shockingly, the Biden administration has failed to recognize China\u2019s strategic calculations so far. The New York Times\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VYLWCNGmyP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a>\u00a0that Biden administration officials shared intelligence on Russia\u2019s troop buildup with China,\u00a0hoping Beijing would help avert Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Chinese officials rebuffed the United States and apparently shared the information with Moscow. <\/p>\n<p>The sooner the Biden administration abandons the delusion that China will be a responsible world power in solving the Ukraine crisis, the better the United States can focus its resources on responding to Russia\u2019s aggression with the most effective means.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Helen Raleigh, CFA, is an American entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She&#8217;s a senior contributor at The Federalist. Her writings appear in other national media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Helen is the author of several books, including &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confucius-Never-Said-Helen-Raleigh\/dp\/1499185278\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&#038;keywords=Helen+Raleigh+Confucius+Never+Said&#038;qid=1606079469&#038;sr=8-1\">Confucius Never Said<\/a>&#8221; and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Backlash-How-Chinas-Aggression-Backfired\/dp\/1736008501\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;qid=1606006113&#038;sr=8-1\">Backlash: How Communist China&#8217;s Aggression Has Backfired<\/a>.&#8221; Follow her on Parler and Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After months of buildup, Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun his long-planned invasion into Ukraine. While all eyes are on Russia and Ukraine, China<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1351463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1351463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1351463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1351463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1351463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1351463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1351463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}