this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2025
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China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas on July 3 that the country cannot afford for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine amid fears the U.S. would shift focus towards Beijing, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing sources familiar with the conversation.

As the war in Ukraine drags on, Wang's reported comments suggest that Russia's war in Ukraine may serve China's strategic needs as focus is deviated away from Beijing's mounting preparation to launch its own possible invasion into Taiwan.

[...]

China has been a key ally to Russia during its full-scale war, helping Moscow evade Western sanctions and becoming the leading source of dual-use goods fueling the Russian defense industry.

[...]

The frankness of Wang's reported admission was greeted with surprise by EU official, according to Hong Kong-based SCMP, amid China's past public statements in favor of a peace deal. Two sources familiar with the meeting told SCMP that they believed Wang was providing Kallas with a lesson in realpolitik during the four-hour encounter.

Wang on July 3 again reportedly rejected Western accusations that it was providing funding and weaponry to support Moscow's war effort in Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly accused Beijing of providing weaponry to Moscow. On May 29, Zelensky said that China had stopped selling drones to Ukraine and Western countries while continuing to supply them to Russia.

[...]

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[โ€“] plyth@feddit.org 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

An April 2025 report by the European Chamber of Commerce in China found that China surpassed its goals for achieving domestic dominance in the auto industry. Of the ten strategic sectors highlighted in the report, China has achieved technological dominance in shipbuilding, high-speed rail, and electric cars. However, it has yet to meet its targets in aerospace, advanced robotics, and the growth rate in manufacturing value-added.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_China_2025

China could be stagnating but I think that is the bolder claim.

As per the Global Innovation Index in 2022, China was considered one of the most competitive in the world, ranking eleventh in the world, third in the Asia & Oceania region, and second for countries with a population of over 100 million.[4] In 2024, China is still ranked 11th.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_China

Is there reason to believe that the West can outpace China for years to come?

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-industrial-robots-installed

Not all robots produced by China, but it gives me the impression that they will lead also robotics soon.

[โ€“] Gsus4@mander.xyz 2 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Ok, even if China leads in all technologies in 20 years as you said. How does that automatically lead Taiwan to want to abandon self-rule? They're really advanced technologically too. Or to give a counterexample: Cuba still refuses to adopt a different political system despite the sharp technological contrast with the US (or NKorea with SKorea)

[โ€“] plyth@feddit.org 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Most People don't choose Capitalism over Socialism for its values but for the material benefits. If those benefits are gone the majority won't hold out for the benefit of their elite.

[โ€“] Gsus4@mander.xyz 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

We'll see. It's a good approach, better than putin's (or trump's)