Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry allegedly told his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday Cairo “opposes some countries for putting pressure on China over [the] Ukraine issue,” China’s state-run Global Times reported on Wednesday.
Shoukry reportedly made the remark to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on March 22 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The two discussed bilateral relations between Beijing and Cairo on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s Council of Foreign Ministers session.
The Global Times‘s account of Shoukry’s comment to Wang on Tuesday echoed a similar report of their meeting published on March 23 by Xinhua, China’s official state press agency. Xinhua quoted Shoukry as saying:
The two sides exchanged views on the Ukraine issue, and agreed to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and stay committed to a comprehensive solution to the current crisis. Shoukry said, Egypt opposes some countries exerting pressure on China and stands for strengthening cooperation rather than escalating confrontation.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged Shoukry and Wang discussed “regional and international issues of common interest” during their March 22 meeting in Islamabad in a Tweeted statement posted later that same day. Egypt has not denied China’s state media reporting of the engagement.
Prior to the inauguration of the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC, FM #Shoukry and Chinese FM #Wang_Yi, discuss strengthening cooperation between the two sides in several fields, and address regional and international issues of common interest.
🇳 pic.twitter.com/pU0MU8ntaf— Egypt MFA Spokesperson (@MfaEgypt) March 22, 2022
The comments Shoukry allegedly made likely referred to the U.S. government’s insinuation that China intends to provide Russia with “material support” in its latest war with neighboring Ukraine, which began on February 24.
“In a video call that lasted around two hours, U.S. President Joe Biden warned China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday [March 18] of ‘implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia’ in Ukraine,” Reuters claimed last week.
“The White House later said that sanctioning Beijing, the world’s largest exporter, was an option, though it did not detail what constituted material support,” the news agency observed.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian responded to a question about this allegation by the U.S. government during a regular press conference on March 15.
The Macau Monthly asked Zhao the following:
According to unspecified US officials, on March 14, the US government told allies in NATO and several Asian countries in a diplomatic cable and through intelligence agents that China had signaled its willingness to provide military and economic aid to Russia at the latter’s request.
It also noted China was expected to deny those plans. He also said, the move is part of a deliberate strategy move to counter disinformation by being far more open about intelligence matters than usual. What is China’s comment?
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman replied to the question, stating:
I’m sure you have noted that Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the claim that Russia requested military aid from China on March 14. The US has been creating and spreading disinformation from time to time. This is neither professional nor ethical, still less responsible. By doing so, the US will further lose the trust of the world.
What the US should do is to deeply reflect upon its role in the evolving situation of the Ukraine crisis, and do more things that can help to easethe situation.
Zhao’s March 15 statement was later echoed by Xinhua on March 23 when it paraphrased Shoukry as saying Egypt “stands for strengthening cooperation rather than escalating confrontation [in Ukraine].”
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