Category World News

China has spoken out strongly against US actions as Venezuela and the United States teeter on the brink of war. According to Beijing, Washington’s escalation, which includes seizing Venezuelan oil tankers, striking alleged drug-smuggling boats, and imposing a blockade off the Venezuelan coast, is a textbook example of unilateral American behavior that violates the UN Charter and infringes on its own.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized the US for “unilateral bullying” and praised Venezuela’s right to “defend its sovereignty and national dignity” during a December 17 call with his Venezuelan counterpart.

Beijing hasn’t, however, offered anything besides rhetoric to Caracas. China’s inaction demonstrates how limited its influence in Latin America is, and it is undoubtedly wary of falling into a geopolitical trap.

Engagement with Latin America

China has been expanding its economic ties with Latin American nations for more than 20 years. In consequence, it is now South America’s top trading partner, and it is also Mexico’s second-largest trading partner, one of the US’s closest allies in the area.

The high degree of complementarity between their economies encourages China’s engagement with Latin American nations. During its trade dispute with the US, especially soya beans from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay have improved China’s food security. In addition, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia’s rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) industry has a need for minerals like lithium carbonate.

Exports of Chinese electric vehicles to Latin America have increased significantly in recent years, rising by 55% in 2023 alone. The region has opened a market for Chinese telecom technology, such as Huawei’s 5G &nbsp, which has long been criticized by Western nations, in addition to easing China’s overcapacity problem. Most Latin American nations are currently using Huawei’s 5G equipment.

Latin America has traditionally been seen as its home by the US, which is naturally suspicious and hostile toward China’s growing influence there. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an outspoken China hawk who has previously referred to the Communist Party of China as an “evil, genocidal regime,” launched a diplomatic blitz in the area in February. He stated that he was attempting to “counter the]CPC’s] influence in the Western Hemisphere” and that he was working with several Latin American nations to reduce ties to China.

Washington still has the upper hand in this influence fight despite not being able to provide a compelling alternative model of economic cooperation and opting for extortion tactics through tariffs. For instance, the region continues to be the last bastion of diplomatic support for Taiwan despite the fact that the majority of the nations in the region have been economically enthralled by Taiwan’s recognition that it is an unalienable part of China. Seven nations in Latin America and the Caribbean have established formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan over China.

When Trump-backed conservative candidate Nasry Asfura won the presidential election in Honduras this week, he pledged to end diplomatic ties with China and rekindle diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Under the Trump administration, several Latin American nations have benefited from US pressure to stifle economic ties with China over the past year.

Panama formally withdrew from China’s Belt and Road Initiative in February. The Panama Canal’s Hong Kong-based operator announced in March that it would be selling the majority of its stakes to a group of American companies, in response to Trump’s claim that China was in charge of the crucial waterway. Mexico announced in December that starting on January 1, it would start imposing tariffs of up to&nbsp, 50%, on Chinese goods.

More than anything else, US pressure on Venezuela has to do with US domestic politics: Rubio is attempting to fulfill a long-held political agenda to win over opposition-minded Venezuelan and Cuban American constituencies.

However, any changes to the Caracasi regime would undoubtedly harm China’s interests. China has a vested interest in preserving Venezuela’s stability and peace because it is its biggest customer of Venezuelan crude oil. Venezuela is not even listed among its  top 10  crude suppliers, which is why China itself is not dependent on Venezuelan oil. However, the US’s interception of Venezuelan oil tankers undermines China’s energy strategy, which aims to avoid becoming overly dependent on any one energy supplier.

A trap or a Monroe Doctrine 2.0?

China views Venezuela’s escalation from both a geopolitical and economic perspective. Important is the larger picture of the US’s projection of global power.

The Trump administration argued in the recently released National Security Strategy that the US should no longer serve as the world’s policeman and that it should follow the principles of the Monroe Doctrine, a 19th-century foreign policy strategy that aimed to stop any foreign interference in American interests.

The US government will maintain a military capable of deterring Chinese ambitions on Taiwan, according to the NSS, despite the fact that it does not identify China as the country’s greatest threat.

This document has sparked conflict between China and the US-Venezuela tensions in the process. On the one hand, the US appears to be avoiding competing with China and instead concentrate on regaining its hegemony over the Western Hemisphere.

On the other hand, it has not taken any significant actions to signal disengagement in Asia, keeping its military installations in South Korea and Japan operational.

Beijing continues to be cautious because it fears that Washington might use its rhetoric and ostensible geopolitical shift to try to condense a false sense of security.

China released a policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean shortly after the release of the NSS. The paper, which is likely a response to recent events, reflects Beijing’s campaign to bring the conflict to the US.

However, the policies and strategies outlined in the document have the same shortcomings as Chinese foreign policy has always had: they provide more symbolic than substantive support. When confronted by American military might, China seriously falls short of its goal of uniting the Global South by promoting grievance-based unity and opposing US hegemony.

Given Venezuela’s low economic value to China and its distance from other countries, the Chinese government would not invest any resources in its defense.

China would likely use it to advance its vision of a multipolar world and establish itself as a champion of international law and the UN Charter in the event of a US invasion. China would almost certainly not intervene to help Venezuela, despite the fact that it would view the US’s prolonged war as a positive development.

However, a US-toppling of Venezuela’s government would reveal the region’s limits to Chinese influence. Given that the aggressive US is so close by, such a scenario would undoubtedly make many Latin American nations reconsider whether partnering with China is a wise choice.

Russian soldiers in Kiev, Ukraine, say they are terrified of Ukrainians, according to Vasily, a corpulent officer who limps awkwardly along Sophia Square in Kiev, where the country’s largest Christmas tree stands.

I’ve jumped into their trenches,” I said. They fear us a lot, he told Al Jazeera.

Their concern, he said, does not imply that Kyiv can decide the terms of the end-of-war because Ukraine still has the most soldiers, a stronger economy, and a larger war arsenal, whereas Russia still has more servicemen and more guns, he said.

When the enemy says, “We simply have nothing to strike it with,” Vasily said, referring to the dire shortage of artillery shells while he was on the front line before losing his left foot to a landmine in 2023, when he hears yell into the radio to say “Hold on” and give its coordinates at 800 meters.

Vassily stayed in the army and was requested to keep his last name in strict accordance with rules of the war.

One can’t hope for the end all together, says one.

However, a four-star general believes that a “pause” in the war’s fifth year, which begins in February 2026, would be the only real achievement.

One can’t hope for the full end of the war with such an aggressive neighbor as Russia, according to Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of Ukraine’s general staff of armed forces.

He claimed that “there won’t be peace with Russia until we liberate the areas that are within the post-Soviet] borders of Ukraine.”

And he claimed that Kyiv would have to “stop the Russians on the front line” by significantly bolstering its military might if Moscow violated the ceasefire pause.

According to him, Kyiv would need to establish universal and “fair” mobilisation without any exceptions, boost domestic arms production, prioritize military needs in economic decisions, and pass stricter martial law.

Up to 40% of the armed forces’ needs are being provided by Ukraine’s military-industrial complex this year, a significant increase from 15 to 20% in 2022.

The remaining 60% is provided by Western allies, and Romanenko argued that their subsequent aid should be “decisive and quick.”

In the second half of 2026, “an opportunity to sign a peace deal” may arise if Russia doesn’t manage to advance quickly and quickly and realizes that Kyiv can tolerate the attrition war, according to another analyst.

Volodymyr Fesenko, the head of the Kyiv-based Penta think tank, told Al Jazeera, “Everything will depend on the Kremlin’s and]Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal willingness to agree.”

There is a chance to reach a peace deal by the late 2025, he said, if Moscow’s “dead-end” development is made clear next year.

Even if Putin consents, Fesenko said it would take months to “connect” the parties’ versions of a peace agreement.

In exchange for Russia’s withdrawal from three Ukrainian regions in the east and north, Ukraine may have to complie with the White House’s demands, he said, to which the conflict will continue into 2027, including several highly fortified cities and towns.

The potential end of the war is influenced by larger global factors.

According to Kyiv-based analyst Ihar Tyshkevich, the very definition of the collective West will change in 2026 as a result of Washington’s removal from the “global policeman’s” role and the end of the “Western hegemony” over the rest of the world.

China is beginning to gain greater global influence and dominance in Asia, but it is still unable to fully challenge Washington’s dominance, he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

He claimed that this process will also cause Ukraine’s position to be “erosion” of international law.

The worst-case scenario is a “Finnish scenario,” according to Tyshkevich, who spoke about the 1939 Finnish-Soviet war when Moscow attempted to reclaim its province during the tsarist era.

Moscow cut off tenth of Finland’s territory and forced Helsinki to accept it despite the heavy losses suffered by Soviet forces that led to Nazi Germany’s invasion of the USSR in 1941.

The “Finnish scenario” will mean that Russia recognizes regions that are occupied by Russia as part of Russia in Ukraine.

In reference to the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia, when Moscow defeated smaller Georgian forces and “recognised” two breakaway regions as “independent,” Tyshkevych called another potential scenario “Georgian.”

The Georgian scenario, in Ukraine’s opinion, means that Kyiv is refusing to recognize the occupied areas as Russia’s.

He claimed that a third “interim” scenario would indicate that negotiations are still going on and that the war is frozen.

According to German researcher at Bremen University, Nikolay Mitrokhin believes there is only one possible scenario for the end of the war.

He said that Russia would “push out” of the region’s remaining one-fifth of a-five percent of its population to the southeast, or that it would have to voluntarily leave. He also said that it would acknowledge the loss of 15 percent of Dnipropetrovsk and 90 percent of the neighboring Zaporizhia region.

Donetsk is credited with creating our problems.

The Kremlin has the resources to keep the war from going on for at least another two years, he said, as Western pressure on Russia’s sanctions is “weak” due to the lack of interest from too many countries in bypassing them and trading with Moscow.

Ukraine’s “corrupt and cowardly” government is unable to mobilize enough manpower, he said, but it does have the resources to do so, he said.

Because Western mediators are unable to persuade Russia to stop, he said, leading to a gradual retreat in Ukrainian forces in crucial directions.

However, Mitrokhin told Al Jazeera that there are a possibility that Trump and his administration will force Zelenskyy to leave Donetsk or hold a presidential vote during the war.

Many typical Ukrainians are becoming more and more tired of the conflict, Russian shelling, blackouts, and a slump in the economy at the same time.

When the war broke out, I was just beginning my third year of university English translation studies. My life was completely destroyed by the atrocity, which destroyed my dreams, erased colors, and destroyed my spirit. My life and career’s center of focus and ambition has come to an end. Despite unprecedented destruction, Gaza itself came to a standstill.

My family and I have suffered a lot during this war, just like all families in Gaza. We lost our health and sense of stability after two years of genocide. We were forced to flee ten times, starting with Khan Younis in the south, Rafah, and then Deir el-Balah in the center of Gaza. We left Gaza City after more than a year, only to find ourselves relocating to Khan Younis eight months later. We are now forced to live there because our house was severely damaged, using tarpaulins instead of walls.

Universities reopened in the summer of 2024, but only for online courses. I registered because I wanted to finish what I had already begun, not because I still believed I could work as a teaching assistant.

I used unstable internet to complete my third year, which was supposed to prepare me for a future lecturer.

My senior year officially began in February. We were struck by famine a few months later. Due to the displacement, lack of food, and persistent fear of bombing, my health began to deteriorate. In a sudden, unhealthy weight loss, I lost nearly 15 kg. Due to a lack of food, my body became frail and I was constantly feeling lightheaded. We once had hardly enough food for a baby when we only had one meal in the middle of the day. As the famine worsened, I could see that my collarbones were catching on more prominently.

Additionally, I began to notice my family members losing a lot, especially my mother. I had the feeling that we were about to lose her in some situations. I feared the hunger I would experience going into bed after 8 o’clock.

Despite all the difficulties, I chose to fight back against the war. I kept reminding myself that the “now” is everything and that Gaza is the land of everything.

I made the decision to start my own project one night: I could charge phones or light them if I couldn’t light minds with knowledge. My family and I discussed the idea of starting a small solar panel-powered phone charging project, which they both supported to the fullest. My career as a phone-charging business owner started the day after I wrote “Phone Charging Point” on a piece of paper outside our tent.

To make sure no phones were lost, I made numbered cards that I attached to each phone. How come the voices that rang out, “Shahed, how’s phone number 7,” kept coming in my days? I would make fun of myself outside, but inside, I would feel terribly ache, like I couldn’t possibly imagine how my senior year of college would go.

I had final exams, too many phones, and cloudy weather. Since I didn’t have a large battery for storage, every passing cloud that blocked the sun would shut off the power supply. I cried from exhaustion and helplessness at those times.

I made around $10 per day, enough to purchase internet cards and inexpensive items like a box of juice and a packet of chips. As I sat there, juggling the charging of the phones, I would wonder if that was actually my time as a university teaching assistant.

I had tears streaming down my face as I took my final exams in October while surrounded by uncharted phones.

In Gaza, there are countless young people who refuse to let the war dictate our stories.

The occupation sought to obliterate education because it is our form of resistance. It intended to plunge us into the depths of ignorance, repentance, and dejection.

Yet, Gaza’s youth remain unbeaten. We have battled persistent internet blackouts to continue our education online. We try our best to support both our families and ourselves by starting small businesses, some of which sell food in small street stands, others offer private tutoring, and others.

Many people are submitting scholarships to pursue their education abroad.

All of this demonstrates how passionately Gaza’s youth are about rebuilding their country, not just as it was before, but even better.

I’m now submitting an application for master’s scholarships outside of Gaza. I want to travel abroad, study, and then return the following day to recharge my brains rather than my phones. My younger brother Anas, whose career goal is to be a journalist, will receive my small phone charging project if I’m accepted so that I can tell the truth about Gaza and its people.

He, I, and the rest of our peers in Gaza refuse to give up.