Chinese state media on Friday ridiculed the Biden administration for requesting Chinese aid for the Red Sea shipping crisis.
A group of anonymous Iranian officials told Reuters that Beijing has no interest in supporting the United States, but told Iranians that attacks by Houthi terrorist proxies in Yemen must not harm China's interests in any way. He said he told him.
On August 24, 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Xie Huanzhi/Xinhua News Agency, via Getty Images)
Biden administration officials are perplexed by China's lack of voluntary action even as rising shipping costs began to hurt Chinese companies.Government is getting bigger and bigger explicit Over the past few weeks, they have talked about asking Beijing to use its influence against Iran to force the Houthis to leave.
China is clearly suffering from Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which have largely cut off shipping routes vital to fast and affordable cargo transport from Asia to Europe.China's export companies are growing I'm getting more and more nervous There are concerns that rising freight costs could lead to a loss of profits, and in some cases, even the destruction of the entire business model.
The Chinese Communist Party appears content to absorb these losses, as the political and economic damage from the Red Sea crisis is far more severe for the United States and its allies. China has issued some weak statements calling on all parties to respect the safety of ships, but at the same time, only Israel can make the Red Sea truly safe if it ceases military operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. he claimed.
Attention — Inter's top house. Democrats: Red Sea 'worsening' – Iran wants to tell Houthis to stop because it will hurt China:
According to Iranian Reuters sources, its geopolitical calculations shifted a bit Last week, Chinese officials told their Iranian counterparts in several meetings that the Houthi attacks were causing unacceptable damage to Beijing's interests.
“Basically, China is saying, 'If our interests are compromised in any way, it will affect our business with Iran.' So tell the Houthis to restrain themselves.” said one Iranian official.
The Houthis have already promised Although it should not attack Chinese or Russian ships, China cannot rely solely on its own ships to transport all its cargo.
Iranian officials who spoke to Reuters said China is not as strong on Iran as it might be because fossil fuel-hungry China is not in a position to reduce its oil purchases to punish Iran for refusing to cooperate. He said he did not rely on it. Chinese officials reportedly did not make any specific comments or threats on how China-Iran trade relations would be affected if China's interests were harmed by Houthi attacks. There wasn't.''
Instead, the Chinese envoys said that Beijing “would be very disappointed in Tehran if ships with ties to China were attacked or the country's interests were affected in any way.” Reconciliation was reached by clarifying the issue.
One of the internal sources said Iran's response was to assure China that its business was valued, but that Iran is not supporting the Houthis or other proxies such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and Gaza's Hamas. He plans to continue pursuing regional issues through this project.
U.S. Central Command said the Houthis fired an anti-cruise missile at the aircraft carrier Labun. (US Navy)
Reuters reported that “a diplomat familiar with the matter said China was in talks with Iran on the issue, but it was unclear how seriously Iran was taking China's advice.”
A Houthi spokesman said Thursday that Iran continues to fully support terrorist attacks, calling the group's position “honorable and responsible.”
None of Reuters' internal sources have seen any evidence that Iran intends to change its position. “Regional alignment and priorities, as well as ideological considerations, make important contributions.”[ly] “We will not abide by Tehran's decision,” one of them said.
There was also no evidence that the Biden administration's pleas to China had any effect on the Houthis in the Red Sea theater.terrorist in yemen attacked On Wednesday, a U.S. cargo ship was placed under U.S. Navy escort, forcing the cargo ship to turn back and ship owner Maersk suspending all U.S.-flagged operations in the Red Sea. There were further missile launches and explosions in the area. report The UK Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO) made the announcement on Friday.
Related Video — Biden Co-Chairman: 'No Surprise' We Have Not Deterred the Houthis Yet:
China's state-owned Global Times on friday ridiculed President Joe Biden for thinking that China would save him from the Red Sea disaster after Washington had been so disrespectful to China for years.
“The timing of this news is interesting. The United States has been organizing armed allied escorts in the Red Sea for more than a month and carrying out military offensives against Houthi militants for more than two weeks, but it has had little effect in terms of containment. There wasn't,” he said. Global Times I raised my voice.
After going through the usual boilerplate about how China wants safer international shipping than anyone else, Global Times Mr. Biden signaled that he would once again seek assistance from China “without any irritation or ambiguity” regarding China's allies in Iran.
The United States has always paid special attention to China-Iran relations, but most often views this relationship through a biased lens. Normal cooperation between China and Iran has always been demonized by the United States, and normal economic and trade exchanges have been reduced to “long-term jurisdiction” as if any contact between China and Iran is considered disadvantageous to the United States. has repeatedly faced U.S. government sanctions under the United States government's legal rights.
However, since the recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, US officials have repeatedly called on China to use this relationship to exert “influence” against Iran. They may even criticize China if they judge that they are not getting the results they expected. This apparent contradiction perfectly illustrates America's selfishness and double standards on the international stage.
of Global Times The failure of the US effort to protect Red Sea shipping, Operation Prosperity Guardian, and the ineffectiveness of limited punitive airstrikes against the Houthis led to Biden's prediction that the Red Sea response would be “increasingly reluctant and struggling.” He jeered that he looked like “a person who is doing something”.
