The Crimean factor has been added to the controversy over China’s acquisition of Ukraine’s “Madasic”. In response to the recent visit of a Chinese business delegation to Crimea, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yelnin summoned the Chinese ambassador there on March 15 to express Ukraine’s displeasure to China.
Ukraine summons Chinese ambassador to express its displeasure
Yenin said that the Ukrainian government regards similar moves not only as unfriendly acts, but also as serious violations of current Ukrainian law. Past precedents have shown that those foreign companies and representatives have visited Crimea with unwanted and serious consequences.
In particular, Yenin published the content of his conversation with Chinese diplomats on his Facebook page, along with photos of the meeting.
China assured that it still supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and its position on Crimea has not changed, Yenin said. The statements made by some political figures that China changed its position on Crimea because of the “Madasic” incident do not correspond to the facts. Yanin said that Ukraine respects the interests of foreign investors in the “Madasic” case and will fulfill its obligations.
Did Russia intend to create a ripple effect?
The Crimea factor was added to the “Madasic” case, which started with the comments of a prominent pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Rabinovich.
In a March 15 comment on his Facebook page, Ukrainian parliamentary opposition member and TV host Rabinovich said that the recent surprise visit of a Chinese business delegation to Crimea could be seen as China’s reaction to Ukraine’s decision to nationalize Madasic. He said that China has long been neutral on the Crimea issue, but now it has changed its position. He said that China will invest heavily in Crimea in the future and cooperate with the local government in the Russian-controlled Crimea in areas such as tourism and health care.
Rabinovich, who hails from eastern Ukraine, was convicted in the Soviet era for embezzling public funds. Some Ukrainian media have also reported that he was recruited by the KGB while serving his sentence. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Rabinovich became wealthy in business and then became a Ukrainian celebrity in politics. He is currently one of the leaders of an opposition party in parliament supported mainly by the Russian-speaking population.
Some local current affairs commentators even believe that, like Medvedchuk, a Putin crony who was recently sanctioned in Ukraine, Rabinovich is an important representative of pro-Russian and pro-Putin forces operating openly in Ukraine.
Many major Russian media outlets, including some official media, covered Rabinovich’s comments extensively that day. The official media RIA Novosti even asked a special question about this at a press conference at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing that day. Spokesman Zhao Li insisted that China maintains a consistent position on the Crimea issue and that Chinese companies cooperate with Crimea based on historical ties and real needs and should not politicize their business activities. Russian political figures followed the developments closely, and State Duma deputy Barybek called on the same day for China to develop relations with Crimea.
Parties stay away from Crimea Ukraine adjusts strategy
Russia has been active in seeking more, including Chinese, support on Crimea, crackdown on Ukraine and other issues. Russia had sent a delegation to China to try to attract publicity for Crimea. However, the list of members of the delegation Russia had drawn up had been restricted by China because some local officials in Crimea were sanctioned by the West.
After Russia’s annexation of Crimea was sanctioned by the West, not only foreign companies but also Russian business giants such as the largest state-owned savings bank were afraid to go to Crimea for fear of getting burned and kept their distance from Crimea.
Ukraine legislated specifically for Crimea and introduced its own sanctions at the same Time. Many Russian entertainers, sports figures, members of the parliaments of some European countries, etc., who entered Crimea directly from Russia without going through the Ukrainian authorities, were blacklisted by Ukraine.
After the crisis in Ukraine, Chinese companies helped Russia lay submarine cables from the mainland to Crimea to help solve the problem of electricity shortage there. From time to time, Chinese business and tourists visit the region, but these events are small in scale. This has been reported in the Crimean and Russian media, but has not caused a storm or a backlash from Ukraine. Some Russian scholars on China believe that the “Madasic” incident and the changing international situation may be the reasons why Ukraine and China have started to negotiate on Crimea.
It is the seventh anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Ukraine has decided to take more proactive and high-profile aggressive actions on Crimea, including the recent launch of the national strategy for the return of Crimea, the international conference on the Crimea platform to be held in late August, etc. Ukraine also made special use of the United Nations a few days ago to create momentum for the stage and bring more international attention to the Crimea issue. Russia, not to be outdone, has taken a series of countermeasures against Ukraine as well.
China doesn’t choose sides. It wanted to invest heavily in Crimea’s development
The fact that China does not take sides with Russia on Crimea has been used by many scholars and analysts as an example and argument to explain why China’s alliance with Russia is not possible. Whenever Ukraine’s Independence Day is celebrated, Chinese leaders have in the past generated electricity to emphasize their support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and these have been reported in the Ukrainian media.
According to Ukrainian political scientist Berkrebinsky, China used to value Crimea’s good harbor and location as a convenient transit point for Chinese goods entering the European Union. Therefore, China had ambitious plans to invest heavily in Crimea to build large logistics centers and renovate deep-water ports. But after Crimea’s annexation, these projects fell through.
Bergrebinsky said that China’s position on Crimea is cautiously mellow and has not offended all parties for the time being.
Bergrebinsky: “China supports the principle of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is enough for the new Ukrainian regime to be satisfied with this.”
China’s soft underbelly Ukraine’s countermeasures play the Taiwan card
Some political analysts in Ukraine believe that China may not play the Crimea card to blackmail Ukraine in the “Madasic” case. If China stands with Russia, it will become the antagonist of the international community and will be isolated like Russia.
In addition, China has its own weaknesses, and Ukraine will play the Taiwan card to counter China. In particular, Ukraine’s two neighboring countries, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, are getting closer to Taiwan. In particular, the decision of Lithuania, which has close cultural and historical ties with Ukraine and has a significant influence on Ukraine, to strengthen relations with Taiwan could have a shock effect on Ukraine.
Ukraine has always maintained various ties with Taiwan. Especially in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s independence, Ukraine’s relations with Taiwan were once very active. Taiwan’s Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Zhang Hsiao-yen visited Ukraine twice. The then Vice President and Executive President of Taiwan, Lien Chan, also visited Ukraine and received an honorary doctorate from Kiev University, where he also met with Ukrainian leaders. Parliamentarians and political figures from both sides have also exchanged visits.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice has begun an open recruitment process for million-dollar lawyers to participate in the legal dispute with Chinese investors over the “Madasic” case. Although the Chinese investors are suing Ukraine for a huge sum of $3.6 billion, an analysis by Russian official media suggests that China’s hopes of winning the case are not as high as it has been boasted.
China’s activities in Eastern Europe have recently hit one wall after another. Ukraine is likely to become another Eastern European country where China has suffered another setback.
Recent Comments