A financial war comparable to a "nuclear war" is coming? The United States is considering sanctions against some Chinese financial institutions and entities, what does this move mean, and what will be the consequences if it is implemented?
U.S. plans to sanction China's finances?
From April 24 to April 26, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China for three days.
At the same time, the United States is considering financial sanctions against China, which will be conveyed by Blinken to China's top management.
The U.S. side believes that the U.S. is very dissatisfied with the fact that China has been providing Russia with key technologies and products, such as chips, cruise missiles, engines, etc., as well as helping Russia rebuild its industry.
Although it is not known exactly what measures the United States will take, sources revealed that the United States is imposing sanctions on relevant entities, including Chinese financial institutions.
[Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin]
In this regard, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin expressed his stance on the incident, and summed it up mainly in three points.
First, the United States has provided large-scale military aid to Ukraine, but has groundlessly criticized the normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia, which is extremely irresponsible and China firmly opposes it.
Second, China has always maintained an objective and fair attitude in handling the Ukraine issue, and actively pushed for the two sides to resolve the issue through dialogue and peaceful means. China is not a creator or a participant in the Ukraine crisis, and has never exacerbated the contradictions or shirked its responsibilities.
Third, based on the principle of equality and mutual benefit, China is an independent and self-reliant power, and economic exchanges with any country, including Russia, are our right and should not be interfered with or undermined.
Therefore, China advises the US side that the only way to resolve the Ukraine issue is to establish dialogue and negotiation, not to suppress and smear China.
In short, China's remarks are based on facts and reasonableness, and if the United States does so, it is unreasonable, and China will categorically not accept it.
[A scene on the battlefield between Russia and Ukraine]
What does it mean to sanction China's finance?
At present, the Chinese side still has a mercy for the United States, mainly because the United States has not really imposed sanctions on China's finances, but this is a precautionary shot, because the incident is very important.
Sanctions are an important tool of U.S. foreign policy, and among the many sanctions of the United States, the most powerful and worthy of attention, known as the "financial nuclear bomb", is the SWIFT sanctions.
SWIFT is a global financial services organization that provides secure, standardised financial information exchange services to financial institutions around the world. It is one of the most important financial communication networks in the world and plays a vital role in the smooth conduct of international financial transactions.
The last time the United States used SWIFT sanctions, it was against Russia, and after the imposition, Russia cut off most of its trade and financial exchanges with the world.
Therefore, in recent years, Russia has basically settled in its own currency or in yuan.
[U.S. imposes SWIFT sanctions on Russia]
And if the United States uses SWIFT sanctions against China, it means that China and the United States have completely torn their faces, and the two countries have started a "financial war".
Although China has deployed local currency settlement for many years, in the international monetary system dominated by the US dollar, China's layout is far from enough.
Once China is kicked out of the SWIFT system, it will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to both individual banks and all banks. There is only one outcome, forced to close the country and suspend foreign trade.
Therefore, China must not allow such a thing to happen.
In the game between China and the United States, China should remain vigilant
And this event, which has not yet been implemented, has only two final results.
First, there is still room for maneuver in the draft and release stages, and there is uncertainty about whether and when it will be implemented. However, with this wind direction, at this stage of ongoing uncertainty, it will force a lot of safe-haven capital to flee China.
In other words, even if the United States does not impose the sanctions on China in the end, it alone has already played a role in getting capital out of China.
[China should be prepared to settle confrontation with the dollar]
Second, the decision on this matter is still in the hands of the United States, and there is no need to mediate and discuss, because a unified voice has been formed within the United States to adopt such means against China.
In this way, the game between China and the United States will be pushed to the moment of "decisive battle," and in order to survive and develop, China will inevitably set the table with the United States in trade settlements, and it is uncertain whether the dollar will win the final victory at that time.
Obviously, the United States has resorted to such sanctions, which means that it is about to start harvesting China openly.
Russia is just an excuse made by the United States, and without Russia, the United States will have other excuses, in short, the United States just can't make China feel better.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the signal of sanctions against China's financial sector released by the United States is to get China to agree to the unreasonable demands of the United States and increase the "bargaining chips" for Blinken's negotiations in China.
But in any case, now that the signal has been given, the Chinese side should "hold out the best hopes and prepare for the worst." ”
Seeing that China is rising or surpassing the United States, it has come up with this kind of indiscriminate trick. However, China is not afraid, the past is not afraid, and the future is not afraid, and we must also plan ahead of schedule.