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Xi Jinping's Lingering Resentment Against NATO

Xi Jinping's Lingering Resentment Against NATO

 


During Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Belgrade, Serbia, this week, part of his first trip to Europe in half a decade, he commented on the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy which shook Sino-American relations a quarter of a century ago.

The bombing occurred during the NATO intervention in Kosovo, where Serbian forces were carrying out a crackdown on rebels and Albanian civilians. On May 7, 1999, five US-guided bombs struck the Chinese embassy in the Serbian capital, killing three journalists.

“At this moment, we must not forget that 25 years ago today, NATO openly bombed the Chinese embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and that three Chinese journalists – Shao Yunhuan, Xu Xinghu and Zhu Ying – were unfortunately killed,” a statement said. statement signed by Xi and released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, the anniversary of the incident.

Chinese protesters march towards the US embassy
A Chinese student protester shouts anti-US slogans while others hold up photos of Chinese journalists killed in the Chinese embassy bombing in Belgrade, Serbia, as they march towards the US embassy in Beijing on…


Stephen Shaver/AFP via Getty Images

“The Chinese people cherish peace, but they will never allow the tragedy of history to happen again. The friendship forged by the blood of the Chinese and Cypriot people has become the common memory of the two peoples and will also inspire the two sides to make great progress.”

News week contacted the US State Department and the Chinese and Serbian foreign ministries for comment.

The U.S. government blamed the bombing on outdated maps used for targeting. The incident sparked widespread protests in China. Washington issued an official apology, compensating Beijing for the damage as well as the victims' families.

Then-US President Bill Clinton apologized to his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin in a phone call.

China then called this attack an “internationally unlawful act” and insisted that the United States “take responsibility for the State”, investigate and punish those responsible.

During his visit to Serbia, Xi focused on strengthening bilateral relations between China and the Balkan country. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reaffirmed his country's alignment with Chinese positions, particularly on autonomous Taiwan and Kosovo.

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has vowed that unification between the two is inevitable, by force if necessary.

“For Xi, consolidating China's presence in Serbia through trade and investment is key to ensuring long-term regional influence,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, a Taiwan-based academic and member of the Munich-based think tank Agora Strategy Institute. . News week.

“But Xi has also found a like-minded friend in Serbian President Vucic, who shares his views, particularly on the PRC. [People’s Republic of China] claims on Taiwan, and left enough room for Xi to position himself in the region against Brussels and Washington. »

She said this opportunity alone made traveling to Xi worth it. Although the timing of his stop in Belgrade is “not a coincidence,” the Chinese leader has more to gain by “playing China's role as a strategic investor and solutions provider for Serbia – and other countries in the developing world that might observe them. “