China and Russia Seek United Action Against Western Sanctions

The foreign ministers of China and Russia announced after an official meeting that the two countries will take joint measures to counter Western economic dominance. They also took a stance regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

Following sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union, and Britain against Russia and China, the foreign ministers of these two countries announced their intention to plan jointly against sanctions and similar punitive measures in the future.

Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov, after an official meeting on Tuesday, March 23 (the 3rd of Farvardin) in Nanning in southern China, announced that increased cooperation between the two countries would benefit the global community.

They stated that they are working to achieve greater global progress on various issues, ranging from climate change to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wang strongly criticized “coordinated sanctions” by the European Union, United States, Britain, and Canada against Chinese officials at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart and said that the international community does not accept such measures.

Interference in “Internal Affairs of Other Countries”

Sergey Lavrov, while stating that sanctions bring Russia and China closer together, accused the West of “imposing its own rules on others.”

In a joint statement issued after the meeting of the two high-ranking officials, it stated that no country should interfere in the “internal affairs of other countries” and should not seek to impose its own form of democracy on another nation.

The foreign ministers of China and Russia held their first meeting on Monday. Sergey Lavrov, after meeting with his Chinese counterpart, emphasized that the two countries should withdraw from the global payment system dominated by the West.

In this regard, he referred to SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). Lavrov also wishes for national currencies to replace the US dollar to reduce dependence on the United States.

China and Russia were rivals during the Cold War, but due to their opposition to liberal systems led by the United States and their cooperation in military, technological, and commercial affairs, they have established close relations with each other in recent years.

Reasons for Sanctions

The European Union sanctioned several Chinese officials and one Chinese institution a few days ago due to the suppression of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China. Beijing, in response to this action, sanctioned 10 European officials and four European institutions.

The United States also added 24 Chinese officials to its sanctions list a few days ago, accusing them of involvement in “reducing Hong Kong’s autonomy.”

The European Union has sanctioned Russia several times for various reasons. The Union’s latest punitive measure was related to the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader.

The latest American sanctions against Russia are being imposed due to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

On Tuesday, Marise Payne, Australia’s foreign minister, and Nanaia Mahuta, her New Zealand counterpart, expressed their concerns about the human rights situation in western China in a joint statement and called for “independent investigations” in this regard.

Stance on the JCPOA

The nuclear agreement with Iran was another topic exchanged between Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov. They asked Washington to return to the nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic as soon as possible and lift unilateral sanctions against Iran.

The foreign ministers of China and Russia also emphasized that the Islamic Republic should be encouraged to fully comply with the JCPOA.

They also proposed that “a regional security platform and dialogue” be established to address the security concerns of countries in the region.

Wang Yi and Lavrov did not comment on the disputes between Tehran and Washington over new negotiations.

This is while even the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran has concluded that returning to the JCPOA without changes to its terms is not possible.

Ali Khamenei, in his Nowruz remarks, while emphasizing this point, said, “Conditions have not changed in America’s favor; they have changed in our favor.”

For this reason, in his view, “if the JCPOA is to change, it should change in Iran’s favor, not theirs.”

Source: DW