Now, as China faces pressure from the West to condemn the Russian invasion, it’s ramping up similar rhetoric to talk about America’s footprint in Asia.
In recent days, senior Chinese Foreign Ministry officials and influential Communist Party publications have accused the US of seeking to build a NATO-like bloc in the Indo-Pacific, with one official warning of “unimaginable” consequences if it does.
At a conference in Beijing on Saturday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said the Ukraine crisis could be used as a “mirror” to view the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Building “closed and exclusive small circles or groups” in the region “is as dangerous as the NATO strategy of eastward expansion in Europe,” Le said at the event at Tsinghua University, according to a version of the speech published by China’s Foreign Ministry.
“If allowed to go on unchecked, it would bring unimaginable consequences, and ultimately push the Asia-Pacific over the edge of an abyss,” he said.
However, China’s bid to draw parallels between the US strategy in the Indo-Pacific and NATO’s “eastward expansion” in Europe closely echoes talking points from Moscow, raising serious doubts as to Beijing’s supposed neutrality.
Source : cnn
