By Amarynth and intended as a quick update and a companion piece to The Saker’s Chaos piece here: http://sakerlatam.blog/the-saker-files/panic-and-chaos-is-clearly-stetting-in-as-the-west-fears-peace-above-all-else/

Victoria Nuland (affectionately known as Cookies), jumped the shark.  She called her counterpart in China and demanded, (asked, petulantly begged?): China Do Something!.  Influence the Russians!.  We need a concession from them.  Just Do Something!  There were the requisite attempts to deliver soft threats:  “if there is a conflict in Ukraine it is not going to be good for China either,” as “there will be a significant impact on the global economy”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded:

  1. Stop interfering in the Olympics
  2. Pay attention to Russia’s Security Guarantees which are valid
  3. Give up your zero-sum game and the Cold War mentality and use the correct method to put out the fires you started.

On the very same day, this past Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (affectionately known as Lil’Blinky) had a telephone conversation with China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.  Lil’Blinky talked about the risks posed by “further Russian aggression against Ukraine” and conveyed that “de-escalation and diplomacy are the responsible way forward.”

Wang Yi responded:

  1. Stop interfering in the Olympics
  2. Pay attention to Russia’s Security Guarantees as this is valid and important
  3. Give up your zero-sum game and the Cold War mentality and use the correct method to put out the fires you started.
  4. And what about those Minsk accords?  You understand they have to be implemented, don’t you?

Global Times wrote an op-ed about all of this, explaining:  “The root cause of the Ukraine issue is that the US has promoted NATO’s eastward expansion unrestrainedly, thus pushing Russia into a corner where there is no way to retreat. Washington is the culprit of the crisis. The US now hopes China will “persuade” Russia. In essence, it wants China to urge Moscow to make a concession. The perfect plan Washington desires is that Moscow will cooperate unconditionally with the US’ geopolitical ambitions. How absurd and ridiculous its logic is!”

So both Cookies and Lil’Blinky struck out on the highest levels of the diplomatic circles in Beijing.

What?  More interference in the Beijing Winter Olympics?  Yes.  That would be the new plot to encourage athletes to create chaos and to cause trouble everywhere.  Sources said the plan includes encouraging athletes to express dissatisfaction with China for various reasons, not to compete or even not to participate in the games.  The US has also pledged to offer generous rewards to athletes who join the program and to mobilize global resources to “protect the personal reputations” of athletes who choose to play negatively.  (Is this what the 47 state department officials for security only wanted visas for)?  The US is also blowing smoke of withdrawing their diplomats from China during the course of the Olympics.  Can you connect the dots in terms of what is being planned here?

And then they want China to help with concessions?   How perfectly arrogant.    

And oh btw, China is also not interested in the US’ F-35C stealth fighter that recently crashed in the South China Sea, says the Foreign Ministry.

It was left to the new Chinese Ambassador to the US to ratchet up the final pain dial one more click.  In an interview with NPR, to a US Audience, his first public interview since taking the post as Chinese Ambassador, he states:

“If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in a military conflict.

This has caused shockwaves and China simply says that the US must take its warning with all seriousness and Washington’s strategic arrogance will only drag the US into more tense strategic unpreparedness.   In addition, this expression is used:  If Washington provokes either China or Russia, the other one will not be indifferent.

Seems to me Lil’Blinky and Cookies have just been wack-a-moled.  Apparently, Blinken was so curtly dealt with, that he could not get to the litany of human rights abuses and the Uyghurs and whatever else.  He was cut off smartly before he could rattle off that old litany of nonsense.

Ambassador to the US Qin Gang has succeeded in raising the stakes and turning the tables.