Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Western countries have launched comprehensive sanctions against Russia, which are mainly concentrated in the economic field. However, when the effect of sanctions has not yet appeared, the Western media have begun to eagerly declare "victory", such as the British "Financial Times" recently published an article saying that comprehensive sanctions will destroy Russia's economic stability.
The report quoted former U.S. Treasury Sanctions Officer Daniel Tanigbaum as saying sanctions are letting Russia follow in the footsteps of Cuba and Iran. A senior White House official described Russia as a "global economic and financial pariah." The British "Economist" shouted that the West's economic weapons targeting Russia may "frighten China and dare not use force against Taiwan."
The Economist believes that the most important means of sanctions in Europe and the United States is to target Russia's economic fortress, Russia's central bank, which has a foreign exchange reserve of $630 billion, equivalent to 38% of Russia's GDP. It is undeniable that the sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries have caused great harm to Russia in the short term. However, since Russia has chosen to go to war, in Russia's eyes, compared with the national strategic security, the losses suffered because of the war are worth it.
It is worth noting, however, that the Western media can't wait to publicize the victory in sanctions, perhaps less glorious. The Western sanctions against Russia are mainly because Russia launched a war against Ukraine, so what are the reasons behind the war in Ukraine? It was the "color revolution" of the West against Ukraine, after the infiltration of Western forces and the "color revolution", Ukraine fell to the West in a complete political way, and Ukrainian officials with American nationality abounded. This shows that the Ukrainian side has in fact lost its status as a sovereign state and has completely become a vassal of the Western countries led by the United States.
Ironically, it is precisely because of the intervention of Western forces in Ukraine that the Ukrainian economy has shrunk sharply, causing the Ukrainian economy to decline sharply. Today, Ukraine's per capita GDP is only $3,700, and given that Ukraine's financial oligarchy accounts for the vast majority of its wealth, Ukraine has effectively become one of the poorest countries in the European region. The root of Ukraine's problem lies in the subversion of Ukraine by Western countries. It is worth mentioning that behind this sanction against Russia, it is actually the embezzlement of Russia's actual assets by the United States and European countries.
After talking about the Ukrainian issue and then talking about the Taiwan issue, in recent times, there have always been Western countries that have forcibly compared the Ukrainian issue with the Taiwan issue, which is nothing more than a psychological tactic, that is, to convey the signal that the Chinese side cannot "use force against Taiwan, otherwise Russia will be a lesson from the past." However, the Ukrainian issue and the situation in the Taiwan Strait are fundamentally two concepts.
First of all, Ukraine is a sovereign state, and the reason why Russia uses force against Ukraine is that the West's step-by-step pressing has led to serious damage to Russia's strategic living space, and it is a response to NATO's expansion with military action. The Taiwan issue, on the other hand, is China's internal affair and domestic affair. Taiwan is a part of China, both in legal theory and in the United Nations, and it is not a question of whether western countries are willing to recognize it or not, not to mention that Western countries also recognize the "one-China" principle without any controversy.
A few Western countries headed by the United States have frequently played "edge balls" on the Taiwan issue, and their fundamental purpose is to curb China's development. The United States is in decline, the real economy is no longer enough to lead the world, and Britain is retreating from a globalized colonial country to the British mainland, and its global influence has shrunk sharply, in this case, the Western countries led by the United States are trying to protect their interests through deliberate suppression and other improper means.
Although the United States and Britain have tried every means to contain the Taiwan Strait issue, there is not much to do, and if the set of Russia is implemented on China's head, then it will continue to sit on the bandit nature of Britain and the United States. That being said, the essence of the world is whose fist is bigger and who has more reason, and this is actually the reason why the United States has invaded the whole world without getting the sanctions it deserves. Unfortunately, if the Western countries implement the same method of dealing with Russia on the Taiwan issue, then we must be reasonable with them.
First of all, from the economic point of view, the reason why Western countries led by the United States dare to impose comprehensive economic sanctions on Russia is mainly because russia's market size is relatively small. In the case of the United States, although it is Russia's fifth-largest trading partner, the total bilateral trade volume is not large, with only $19.8 billion from January to July 2021. And Russia's foreign exchange sources mainly rely on energy exports, such as oil and gas exports, which are not deeply related to the global economy, which is the basis for Western countries to impose comprehensive sanctions on Russia.
China is not the same, affected by the global epidemic, the world economy as a whole is in a downturn, China is recognized as the "engine" of global economic growth, among the world's major economic countries, there is one to say, no country can leave China's goods. In addition, China also has the world's largest physical consumer market, and some Western multinational giants are very dependent on the Chinese market, such as European and American cars, Japanese cars and so on. Does Apple in the United States have the courage to suspend sales in the Russian market, and does it have the courage to suspend sales in the Chinese market? Especially at the moment of the rise of China's local high-tech industries, if sales are unilaterally terminated, it is a good thing for local companies.
If the United States wants to deal with China with the same set it has against Russia, will it have serious repercussions? Of course, but the impact is two-way, and the Impact on the West as a whole is much more severe, and even "shared harm" is unbearable. The resulting harm will be global, not specific to a country.
In addition, from the development of recent decades, we can see that China's economy and industry have maintained a high degree of resilience, and the technical barriers set up by Western countries led by the United States are being overcome one by one. China is the world's second largest economy, and Western countries should weigh this up.
In terms of hard power, Western countries have also lost the opportunity to interfere in the situation in the Taiwan Strait, and any Western country, including the United States, is unwilling to clash with China at China's doorstep, although China has repeatedly stated that it will not compete with the United States for hegemony, but this does not mean that China is a good bully. Therefore, this kind of "China is frightened" remarks in the Western media are actually just trying to speak quickly and have no practical significance.