The Chinese government on Thursday insisted its massive oil imports from Russia are “legitimate and lawful” and threatened “countermeasures to firmly defend its sovereignty” if President Donald Trump pressures Beijing to stop buying Russian oil.
China was responding to President Trump’s claim on Wednesday that he has persuaded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put a “big stop” on India’s prodigious purchases of Russian oil “within a short period of time.”
“Now I’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” Trump mused to reporters in the Oval Office.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian angrily rejected Trump’s overture at a press conference on Thursday morning.
“China has made clear its position on this issue more than once. China’s normal trade and energy cooperation with other countries, including Russia, is legitimate and lawful,” Lin said.
“What the U.S. has done is typical unilateral bullying and economic coercion, which will severely disrupt international economic and trade rules and threaten safety and stability of global industrial and supply chains,” he alleged.
Lin amusingly insisted China’s position on peace in Ukraine is “objective, just, and aboveboard,” even though China’s massive purchases of Russian products are financing the invasion, and China declared a “no-limits partnership” with Russia after the invasion began. Also, China is responsible for the vast majority of the schemes that have allowed Russia to evade international sanctions.
“We firmly oppose the U.S. directing the issue to China and imposing illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on China,” Lin said.
“If China’s legitimate rights and interests are harmed, China will take countermeasures to firmly defend its sovereignty, security, and development interests,” he threatened.
Lin was also furious at the United Kingdom for imposing sanctions against Chinese energy companies and ports to punish China for buying Russian energy products.
“China opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law or authorization of the U.N. Security Council. We deplore the UK’s decision and have protested to the UK,” he said.
If Trump really has persuaded India to stop buying Russian oil, it would be a body blow to Putin’s war machine — and if he could somehow get China to follow suit, the Russian economy could swiftly collapse.
Russia has been India’s top supplier of oil during most of the Ukraine invasion, since Russia’s other buyers imposed sanctions and India suddenly found itself able to buy vast quantities of Russian crude at deeply discounted prices.
President Trump has been pressuring India to dramatically reduce its reliance on Russian oil ever since he returned to office. Russian oil has been one of the two major sticking points in trade negotiations between America and India, the other being India’s protectionist agricultural import policies.
The Indian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that India seeks to “expand our energy procurement” from the United States, signaling that a major shift in New Delhi’s energy strategy is forthcoming.
China is currently Russia’s top customer for oil and coal by a wide margin, followed by India. Awkwardly, China is only the Number Two buyer of Russian natural gas, the top spot being held by the European Union. China buys 47 percent of Russia’s crude oil exports, followed by 38 percent for India.
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