A storm in a teacup or no more ‘Chinese tea’ for Europe?

A storm in a teacup is raging after Mr Wang Yi’s visit to Europe. Wang Yi visited various European officials including German Foreign Minister Wadephul in Berlin, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot and French Foreign Minister Jean-Nolé Barro.

This post deals with his 4-hour meeting with the ‘brilliant’ Kaya Callas and other european poodles dignataries.

Wang Yi’s visit was to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU), and as is customary in diplomatic affairs, he made a positive speech to kick off this visit.  He said that the 50th anniversary is of great significance in building on past achievements and charting the future. China-EU cooperation has grown from scratch and expanded steadily. Today, the daily trade volume between the two sides is equivalent to the total annual trade volume of previous years. China-EU relations have also kept reaching new heights, forming a comprehensive strategic partnership. Both sides should take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to thoroughly review and reaffirm important inspirations drawn from history. In other words, the China-EU relationship should be characterized as a partnership, with cooperation being the defining feature, independence the key value, win-win outcomes the prospect for development. Both sides should take this year’s high-level exchanges as an opportunity to cherish the efforts made by predecessors, carry forward the hard-won spirit of cooperation, and work together to open up the next 50 years of China-EU relations that will be more resilient and autonomous, more mature and stable, and more forward-looking.

Since the start of Trump’s tariff regime when Europe as a bloc realized that Trump is not going to spare them, there has been a line of European visitors to China, to do some business.  Mostly they were received with dignity but sometimes China ignored them and in some cases, they landed at the airport with no dignatories to greet them.  It has been a rocky relationship to say the least.   This was thus a visit to build and repair relationships and open trade mechanisms and Wang Yi arrived with a friendly and conciliatory stance.  It was a longer visit, from June 30 to July 6.

Mr. Wang Yi walked into a hellscape of accusations, and various parts of this visit are now being cancelled and changed.  The allegations were around China’s support of Russia in the SMO and there were some unhinged accusations regarding rare earth minerals.   Ms. Kallas demanded that her Chinese counterpart stop “any material support for the Russian military-industrial complex” and expressed concern about Chinese companies’ cooperation with Russia.  Then she demanded that China ends its unfair practices, including restrictions on the export of rare-earth metals, which pose significant risks to European companies and threaten the reliability of global supply chains,” according to the EU press service.  

Mr. Wang Yi sat in his chair for four hours of this.  According to the Chinese readouts, he remained courteous.

Wang Yi said that the Ukraine crisis, occurring in Europe, has global ramifications. China’s position has been open and consistent, which includes to promote peace talks, not to provide lethal weapons to parties in the conflict, and to strictly control the export of dual-use articles, including drones. China has not only effectively fulfilled its international responsibilities but also initiated the Group of Friends for Peace with Brazil and other Global South countries at the United Nations, gathering greater collective efforts for ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. China’s objective and impartial stance has gained broad recognition from the international community.

It takes more than one cold day for the river to freeze three feet deep. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly pointed out that there is no simple solution to complex issues. Although there are still major differences in the positions of the parties involved, it is better to talk than to fight. The history of Europe over the past several centuries has demonstrated that no matter how complex and difficult the circumstances may be, the door to peace and reconciliation must never be closed. China welcomes all parties to play a constructive role in this regard, working to reach a comprehensive, lasting, and binding peace agreement, building a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security architecture, and achieving enduring peace and stability in Europe at an early date.

So far so good.  Wang Yi remained in his chair and for that he deserves a medal.

Two news outlets, The South China Morning Post (out of Hong Kong, unreliable and at least half of their reporters are still Brits) and Bloomberg started reporting about the conversations during the four hour meeting, all ‘allegedly’ and from unknown ‘sources’.

Wang Yi openly admitted that China cannot allow Russia to lose in the Ukrainian conflict, and that prolonging it is even beneficial for Beijing.

This prevents the United States from fully shifting its focus to Asia, which gives China a strategic window.

In addition, the minister allegedly stated that if Beijing were to provide any assistance to Moscow in the Ukrainian conflict, the conflict would have ended earlier.

Did Wang Yi say those things or did he not?  Was he set up for a failed high profile diplomatic meeting?  And if so, who was set up and by who?

In the background, the trade negotiations in London between China and the US continue and the reporting from there is that they are making progress specifically on the issues of rare earth metals.  China will not export these if they are of dual use.  In the Chinese readout on the European accusations on rare earth metals state that this has little to do with consultations between Europe and China. Let’s call them the third force for now.

Did the third force set up both Wang Yi and Europe to make sure that any relationships and trade negotiations fail in order to give their own negotiations and agenda a better change of success?

China is already responding and we will see strong measures. They do not take it lightly that their Minister of Foreign Affairs is disrespected. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the imposition of anti-dumping duties ranging from 27.3% to 34.9% on European cognac and brandy imports for a period of five years, effective from July 5.

London Paul and Ken from the Sirius Report discuss:

A short update from a journalist that is to be admired.

KAJA KALLAS BECOMES CHINA CRYING CLOWN

Kaja Kallas, is usually found strutting around Brussels like she’s the queen of geopolitics, preaching about freedom and sanctions, she’s thinks that single handed she is holding back Russia, while conveniently forgetting her husband’s company was trucking goods to Moscow during her anti-Russia sermons, hypocrisy much.

This shrill shrieking non entity was wanting to play at being a diplomat and to be taken as seriously as her father. The woman who would start a bar fight reading a peace treaty was a poor choice. Her idea of diplomacy is wagging her finger at anyone who disagrees, then lecturing people on values and democracy. An ego so bloated she thinks she is more than an Estonian cardboard cut out of Ursula Von der Leyen. She storms into EU meetings like a yapping chihuahua with a vendetta. So watching her walk into a meeting with Wang Yi, a cool consummate diplomat, know for his coolness and utter reasonableness was always going to be unmissable. In the red corner, a hardened diplomat, winner of many battles and skirmishes and in the blue corner, the venomous harpy desperate to shake off the ” I only got the job because of daddy ” image.

This horrific little harridan opened with a petulant demand that China obeys the rules based order, which was listened to in bemused and stony silence. Taking this silence for weakness, this colossal clown screeched about China not helping to arm Russia. In typical Baerbock style, neoNazi fashion, she also demanded that China condemned the Russian SMO and that China use it’s influence to obtain a halt to Russia’s inexorable, leisurely march across Ukraine.

Now anyone with an ounce of common sense, would know that to tackle or defeat China, you would need Russia’s help, and vice versa. That ship sailed long ago leaving, China as the only player in town, holding a fistful of aces. Bluffing in this situation was never going to work and to try so with China, is to invite disaster. So sending this inadequate and diplomatically barren desperate wannabe with all the charm of a sexually transmitted disease, was as deluded as thinking the European Union mattered.

She was listened to, according to our friends in the know, with bemusement, bafflement and incredulity. The Chinese were fully aware that the damsel of density was not know for her tact, but even they were taken aback by the complete lack of awareness of her situation. Once the initial shock had worn off, she was then fed into the diplomatic shredder of glaring reality.

Wang Yi pointed out that China has not helped Russia in the conflict with Ukraine and that had China done so, the conflict would already be over. It was further pointed out to a red faced and very chastened Kaja Kallas, that China had no intention whatsoever of interfering in the current conflict. A crestfallen Kallas was then informed that China had no intention of seeing Russia lose either, because they believe that, if Russia were defeated, then it would be China’s turn next. To get Wang Yi, angry enough, for that kind of volley and brevity, shows a special talent for stupidity. So at the end of this, Kallas with her preening and posturing, pushed Russia and China into an ever deepening embrace.

As our Chinese friends pointed out, they had never seen Wang Yi so angry or so publicly inclined to slap Kallas diplomatically, into oblivion. This is not the first time the European Union has sent one of it’s pre menstrual posse to lecture the Chinese. Von Der Leyen and Baerbock equally suffered a hapless humiliation when confronting China with a rhetoric full of rubbish. All three had one job, just one and between the three of them handled it with the deftness of an OnlyFans model trying to convince the world they were marriage material.

WARREN THORNTON INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST