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China's Xi slams sanctions, de-coupling

A screen shows Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia via video link, at a media center in Boao, Hainan Province, China, on April 21, 2022. (Photo by Reuters)

Chinese President Xi Jinping has once again voiced China’s opposition to unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction,” warning that economic “de-coupling” and pressure tactics such as severing supply chains are doomed to failure.

Xi made the remarks during a video speech to the annual Boao Forum for Asia gathering in the southern Chinese island of Hainan on Thursday, without directly mentioning the West’s sanctions against Russia over its military offensive against Ukraine.

“China would like to put forward a global security initiative” that upholds “the principle of indivisibility of security,” Xi said.

“We should uphold the principle of indivisibility of security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the building of national security on the basis of insecurity in other countries,” he added.

Xi further stressed that efforts were needed to stabilize global supply chains, but also said China’s economy was resilient and that its long-term trend had not changed.

China has repeatedly criticized Western sanctions, including those against Russia, while blaming the Ukraine crisis on NATO’s eastward expansion.

Beijing has also vowed to continue its strategic coordination with Moscow, which has been under mounting Western pressure since it launched the offensive against Ukraine two months ago.

On Wednesday, Zhang Jun, the Chinese ambassador to the UN, said the international community should eliminate the negative impact of sanctions, pointing out that the "arbitrary freeze of foreign exchange reserves of other countries constitutes a violation of sovereignty, and is tantamount to weaponizing economic interdependence."

He called for an end to such practices, saying they "undermine the foundation of world economic stability and bring new uncertainties and risks to international relations."

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military offensive against Ukraine on February 24. Western governments have slapped unprecedented sanctions against Moscow since then.

Beijing says that the sanctions are unilateral and not authorized by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

China, the world’s second-biggest economy, has developed close ties with Russia in recent years. The two world powers issued a lengthy 5,000-word statement early in February against the expansion of NATO, calling the US-led military alliance a relic of the Cold War.


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