- 490 Posts
- 266 Comments
1·1 day agoChina’s “service to the world” is delivered by forced labour and coercion, the Chinese party-state serves itself and itself only. It doesn’t make sense for Europe to substitute Russian fossil fuels by Chinese renewable energy tech.
“It is precisely because most European decision-makers realize the necessity of strategic autonomy that they have made it clear that they must strengthen cooperation with China”
Like it or not, we will have no other choice.
I read this yesterday or so in another community. If you want strategic autonomy, you have no choice than cooperation with China? How does this make sense? (I mean, other than it comes form a Chinese researcher who unsurprisingly says that …)
75·1 day agoMr. Sanchez decided to run for re-election despite a corruption scandal, I can’t help thinking that his daily messages are aimed at diverting from his own conundrum.
“It is precisely because most European decision-makers realize the necessity of strategic autonomy that they have made it clear that they must strengthen cooperation with China,” said Yan Xuetong, dean of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University, to The Paper, a Shanghai-based news site.
Maybe I am a bit slow today, but it is not clear to me why “the necessity of strategic autonomy” makes it clear “they must strenghten cooperation with China” … Oh, wait, the dean of Tsinghua University in China told that to a Shanghai-based news site …
What a survey, hell, I am surprised (s/).
It is not only Germany that has “long sought to extinguish the militarism that fueled its calamitous history during World War II,” but also other countries. In Russia, the country which started a brutal and unprovoked war in Europe after decades of peace, soldiers’ mothers have long been a thorn in the Kremlin’s side.
First Russian grassroots organizations of soldiers’ mothers to bring their sons home are known to have started in the 1980s during the USSR’s occupation of Afghanistan, and has been continuing their work to this day. The Human Rights Organization “Soldiers’ Mothers of Saint-Petersburg” is one example.
The difference is that in the West, these organizations and every individual can openly speak out against the war, while in autocracies like Russia you can’t. A report like the one linked here would be immediately censored, with the author likely facing long imprisonment.
Which mother or father wants their children to go to war? Do Putin’s children fight in the war in Ukraine? His backers’ children? What a title.
It is really like someone has said long time ago:
“One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.”
Addition:
Russian officials criticised for giving meat grinders to mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine
Chinese automakers are in big trouble everywhere in the world, but foremost in their home market. China’s market leader BYD slows production, cancelling shifts in factories or closes factories completely, suspended some plans to set up new production lines.
A survey conducted by the China Automotive Dealer Association in May found that BYD dealers held an average inventory of 3.21 months, the highest among all brands in China, whereas the inventory level industry-wide was at 1.38 months.
The ongoing overproduction of Chinese carmakers and a fierce price war takes its toll (with around 400 Chinese carmakers went bankrupt or ceased production since 2018).
But China needs Europe and the rest of the world to buy their cheap products, made by coerced labour, so the propaganda must go on.
I guess Russia hasn’t too many options anymore.
It is explicitly allowed as far as I know.
Where is the “dialogue” in the original title? Is this a propaganda piece by a .ml account?
Russia violated about 400 international treaties since 2014
You’ll find a lot of sources in addition to my link on that subject.
I am not surprised by your stance as something like this is widespread on Lemmy (which may also contribute to the fact that the Lemmyverse is still quite small imo, as not many people are willing to read this propaganda all the day long). What I still find irritating is that this comes from a moderator.
Unless China sides with Russia they haven’t a chance, and China doesn’t seem to have shown any form of intent in that regard. They sell equipment to Russia because there’s money to be made, in the same way they sell equipment to NATO countries.
Oh, no, this is just as China (and Russia) portray things as part of their propaganda. But it’s false.
For example, China сuts drone sales to Ukraine and the West but continues supplying Russia.
China is everything but neutral, and it’s also not just about money as your comment tries to suggest. The government in Beijing pursues its own agenda (and its own agenda only). It goes far beyond Europe.
According to Chinese state-controlled media outlet South China Morning Post, for example, China’s Xi Jinping kicked off his state visit to Russia in May 2025 by thanking Moscow for supporting Taiwan’s reunification with mainland China.
In a signed article in Russia’s state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper … [Xi Jinping wrote that Taiwan’s] unification [with China] must be upheld as part of the post-war international order … Celebrating the “enduring friendship” between Moscow and Beijing, he said the two countries had supported each other since World War II …
Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s aggression against Taiwan are closely linked, at least for China. Beijing wants control over Taiwan (and supposedly over the South China Sea and other neighbouring areas in Asia, including a part of Siberia which is currently Russian territory).
And there are also Chinese mercenaries fighting for Russia, hired by ads on Chinese social media. Unlike any ‘pro-Western’ content on China’s state-controlled internet, these Russian conscription ads aren’t get censored.
[Edit typo.]
Interesting points.
An current example of how a war changes how people eat can be seen in Russia.
Russians Turn to Pasta and Bread Amid Record Potato Price Increases
Russian consumers are increasingly substituting basic staples for once-affordable vegetables amid surging food prices and shrinking household budgets.
The most striking example is potatoes, a longtime dietary cornerstone in Russia, whose average retail price rose by 173% year-over-year by the end of May, the steepest annual increase in the past 23 years … Svetlana Misikhina, deputy director of the Center for Development at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, estimated that the affordability of potatoes has declined by nearly 45% over the past year.
Other key products are showing similar trends: the average price of onions rose 41% year over year, while butter became 34% more expensive. As a result, the affordability of onions and butter fell by 17% and 15%, respectively.
By contrast, the affordability of products like grains and pasta has improved by 12 and 14%, respectively, reflecting both relatively stable prices and increased consumer demand, Misikhina said.
Despite official attempts to frame this dietary shift as a choice for “higher-quality foods,” the data paints a picture of economic strain.
No, there is no alternative as the aggressor here is Russia. It was Russia which started the war, and if the EU isn’t willing to upgrade its defense capabilities, Russia will start the wars against other countries. Russia outspends the whole of EU in military built-up, there is much evidence for this as you can also read in this comm in the meantime.
Just to to Ukraine and experience the war yourself to see the alternative.
Addition:
If you think investing in defense is not worthwhile you may call Mr. Usyk, maybe he is willing to extend his offer to you. You can then see yourself what happens in Ukraine every day.
[Edit typo.]
@haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com
I am not involved in this so far, but what does your statement mean? I’m just asking because it is somewhat irritating how many admins and moderators here on Lemmy support autocratic regimes by downplaying and sometimes even denying their crimes.
Do you have something that fosters that opinion?
For now it doesn’t look like Germany would cut social welfare for military expenditure, the actual budget plans don’t say that.
Nah, let them migrate to Ukraine. Let’s see how their views change when they experience the war themselves.
All those who think investing in defense is not worthwhile like Mr. Sanchez may call Mr. Usyk, maybe he is willing to extend his offer to others. You can then see yourself what happens in Ukraine every day.
Mr. Sanchez is also arguing in bad faith. There is no need to cut welfare spending for the sake of defense. Europe can afford both, and must. Once again, Mr. Sanchez doesn’t appear to talk for his country and Europe but rather pursuing interests of others.
@theacharnian@lemmy.ca @acargitz@lemmy.ca
What an absurdly derailed form of whataboutism is this? Russia is waging a war against Ukraine and preparing to invade other European nations (as you can see from the Kremlin’s military spending). It was Russia which started this war and constitutes a threat to Europe, this has nothing to do with what happens in other world areas.
Good. EU leaders also agreed to renew Russia sanctions for another six months.
[Edit typo.]