China has firmly opposed the United States’ continued spread of “ungrounded false information” about China’s alleged support for Russia’s defense industrial base, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Thursday, Lin responded to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s accusations made at the 2024 NATO Public Forum. “We express strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the erroneous remarks made by the U.S. side,” Lin stated.
Lin emphasized that since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. has claimed that China was providing military support to Russia but has failed to provide substantial evidence. He noted that even the head of the U.S. military had confessed that China did not offer such assistance to Russia in the conflict.
The spokesperson cited a study by the KSE Institute, affiliated with the Kyiv School of Economics, which found that more than 95 percent of all parts found in Russian weapons on Ukraine’s battlefield were sourced from producers in Ukraine’s Western allies, with 72 percent accounted for by U.S.-based companies alone.
“The U.S. and its allies have not interrupted their trade with Russia, and most countries in the world have not participated in sanctions against Russia or interrupted trade with Russia. The U.S. can’t dump the pot on China,” Lin asserted.
He reiterated that China is not a creator of the Ukraine crisis, nor a party to it. “We never fuel the flames or exploit the situation for selfish gains, nor will we provide weapons to any party to the conflict,” he said.
Lin added that Chinese enterprises, in accordance with World Trade Organization rules and market principles, carry out normal economic and trade cooperation with countries around the world, including Russia and Ukraine, in a reasonable and rational manner. “It is not up to certain individual countries to point fingers at,” he said.
“The United States should not presume to make China pay for its wrongdoings, and China will never accept the U.S.’ shirking responsibility, bullying, and coercion,” the spokesperson concluded.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
