Senior Colonel Zhou Bo (ret.), senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy and a China Forum expert, gave an interview to Der Spiegel, in which he elaborated China’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China-US relations and the Taiwan Strait, and shared his own perspectives.  

Foto: Der Spiegel

In response to the West’s concern about China’s close ties with Russia, Zhou said that as the two countries are each other’s largest neighbors, they must maintain friendly relations; but the conflict in Ukraine is not what China wants to see. China has not provided any military support to Russia and has always been firmly opposed to the use of nuclear weapons in Europe. He also refuted the claim that China is the big winner of the war in Ukraine.

 Foto: Der Spiegel

When asked why China needs to build a global navy, Zhou noted that for a major country, it especially needs a strong navy to protect its economic interests abroad and fulfill its international responsibilities.

Talking about China’s maritime disputes with the Philippines, Zhou said China has never used force against the latter; instead, the Philippine Coast Guard had shot unarmed Chinese fishermen in 2000 and 2013. In addition, the Philippines has reneged on its promise to China by attempting to fortify its ‘grounded’ warship on Ren’ai Reef.

He also pointed to two places where conflict between the US and China could erupt: the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, saying that due to frequent provocations by US ships and aircraft in the South China Sea, collisions are more likely to occur in that region. On Taiwan, as China’s anti-secession law has clearly spelled out three premises for using a non-peaceful solution, conflict in the Strait is not entirely inevitable.

(Read the original article here: https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/chinas-verhaeltnis-zu-russland-wir-wissen-um-eure-angst-a-867b34a2-d77f-48ba-99e1- 5180d6bdff6f)