 | | After the recent U.S. downing of a Chinese spy balloon over American airspace, a new diplomatic tug of war is playing out between Washington and Beijing: this time over the possibility of China providing lethal support to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
As tensions mount, a potential game changer would be if the Biden administration opts to hit China with tougher sanctions -- penalties that could equate to labeling China a state sponsor of terrorism.
The Chinese side is pushing back. After a U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon that had overflown a swath of the continental U.S., Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng lodged a protest with Washington, claiming the device was a civilian airship used for meteorological research. A source said that in addition to conveying China's opposition to the downing, Xie also carried with him a message that reflected the thinking of China's top leadership.
The message implied that if the Biden administration imposes further sanctions on China, it could make it impossible for Beijing to compromise on Ukraine issues in ways Washington might want. One of Beijing's primary interests is to forestall Washington's sweeping restrictions on semiconductor exports to China, including through an international coalition encompassing Japan and the Netherlands.
Read this week's China Up Close by Katsuji Nakazawa here.
|
|
