
China fears US will turn focus on it if Russia defeated in Ukraine war: Report
Wang's comment during his talks with EU's Kaja Kallas - bloc's de facto foreign affairs chief - would confirm what many in Brussels believe to be Beijing's position, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Friday. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning parried the question about Wang's comments at a media briefing.
Wang is currently on a tour of the EU. Some EU officials involved were surprised by Wang's remarks, the Post reported.
However, Wang is said to have rejected the accusation that China was materially supporting Russia's war effort, insisting if it was doing so, the war would have ended long ago.
During a four-hour debate on a wide range of issues, Wang was said to have given Kallas a lesson in realpolitik, part of which focused on Beijing's belief that Washington would soon turn its full attention eastward. One interpretation of Wang's statement in Brussels is that while China did not ask for the war, its prolongation may suit its strategic needs, so long as US remains engaged in Ukraine, the Post reported.

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Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
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Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
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Business Standard
26 minutes ago
- Business Standard
US tariffs on European goods likely to disrupt world's largest trade ties
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Arnault, who attended Trump's inauguration, has urged Europe to reach a deal based on reciprocal concessions. If we end up with high tariffs, ... we will be forced to increase our US-based production to avoid tariffs, Arnault said. And if Europe fails to negotiate intelligently, that will be the consequence for many companies. ... It will be the fault of Brussels, if it comes to that. Many expect Trump to drop his most drastic demands Some forecasts indicate the US economy would be more at risk if the negotiations fail. Without a deal, the EU would lose 0.3per cent of its gross domestic product and US GDP would fall 0.7per cent, if Trump slaps imported goods from Europe with tariffs of 10per cent to 25per cent, according to a research review by Bruegel, a think tank in Brussels. Given the complexity of some of the issues, the two sides may arrive only at a framework deal before Wednesday's deadline. That would likely leave a 10per cent base tariff, as well as the auto, steel and aluminum tariffs in place until details of a formal trade agreement are ironed out. The most likely outcome of the trade talks is that the US will agree to deals in which it takes back its worst threats of retaliatory' tariffs well beyond 10per cent, Schmieding said. However, the road to get there could be rocky. The US offering exemptions for some goods might smooth the path to a deal. The EU could offer to ease some regulations that the White House views as trade barriers. While Trump might be able to sell such an outcome as a win' for him, the ultimate victims of his protectionism would, of course, be mostly the US consumers, Schmieding said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)