Beijing: US caused Ukraine conflict, profiteering from EU gas crisis

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday that the US initiated the Ukrainian crisis, and is now watching the energy market collapse in the EU while receiving benefits and super-profits.

"The US, being the initiator of the Ukrainian crisis, has become the biggest winner, they oversee the fire from the opposite bank and take advantage, this deserves the world community to think and be vigilant," Zhao said.

Zhao stated that the discrepancy in gas prices between the European and US markets had reached record levels, with a price differential of more than tenfold. According to the Business Insider news portal, each ship that distributes LNG to Europe may generate more than $100 million in windfall profits for US corporations.

"Clearly, while US arms and food dealers have taken advantage of the Ukrainian crisis to cash in on it, US energy sellers have not been left behind either," Zhao said.

The Ukrainian crisis lasted more than six months and proved that unilateral sanctions by the US and the West cannot solve the issue but rather exacerbate it, added Zhao.

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Tensions between the two blocs have been on the rise due to the Ukraine war, which is further exposing the West's ambitions of establishing a unipolar world. 

Besides the conflict in Ukraine, these tensions have likewise surfaced in a number of other issues, such as the Russian-Chinese Arctic Cooperation and the provoking visits of US officials to the island of Taiwan.

UK officials have warned that China and Russia of weakening the global security architecture due to the use and development of space and cyber technologies, calling for the reestablishment of the balance of power.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has likewise stated that the Russian-Chinese cooperation in the region was posing a "challenge" to the alliance as it did not meet NATO's interests, and urged the organization to boost its presence there. 

Russian and Chinese officials have been quick to respond to the West's criticism. Recent comments delivered by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg regarding the Sino-Russian arctic cooperation were slammed as "irresponsible" by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, calling Stoltenberg out for instigating "dangerous thinking" and exporting a Cold War mentality that would recreate bloc confrontation. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has several times accused the US of irresponsible behavior and lack of remorse for misdeeds. In a letter sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Lavrov called attention to his responsibility to require the US to  "behave decently"  after the UNHRC attempted to suspend Russia's membership in the sub-organization per US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's request.

Lavrov also said earlier this month that attempts by the US to establish dominance in every corner of the globe are futile and reflect Washington's policy of impunity. This was made in reference to "the policy of lawlessness demonstrated by the US colleagues who are seeking to establish their dominance" on the global stage. 

He also criticized the US and its allies for providing a racist division of the world through the Western-imposed "rules-based order" while highlighting that his country has been expanding and deepening "fruitful cooperation with the overwhelming majority of members of the global community who represent more than 80% of the planet’s population."

Read more: Russia, China, Iran relations strengthening in face of US: Axios