(Photo/China News and Picture Network)
Why did Biden stop sanctions against "North Stream 2"?
Text/Yang Chengxu
published in 2021.6.7 General Issue 998 "China News Weekly"
On the 25th of 5th, local time, Biden announced that he would give up sanctions on enterprises involved in the construction of the "North Stream 2" natural gas pipeline project, and said, "Continuing to implement sanctions now will have a counter-effect on our relations with Europe." Both Germany and Russia welcome Biden's approach, while Ukrainian President Zelensky was disappointed, believing that the US approach means "Russia's complete victory in geopolitics."
In fact, the United States has stopped sanctions on companies participating in the Nord Stream 2 project, which does not mean that the United States does not oppose the construction of the project. Biden and Blinken never hide the fact that the United States opposes the construction of a natural gas transmission pipeline that is directly connected between Germany and Russia, believing that the construction of this pipeline forces Germany to rely more on Russia and endanger European security. What is particularly worried about the US official and public opinion is whether Russia will arbitrarily stop and reduce natural gas transported to Europe through Ukraine, and master the "weapon" to put pressure on Ukraine and Eastern European countries.
In 2005, Germany and Russia reached an agreement to build the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline and send natural gas directly from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Seabed. The first phase of the project was completed in 2012. In 2015, the two countries announced the construction of the "Beixi No. 2" natural gas pipeline project. The total length of this pipeline is 1,224 kilometers. After completion, the total amount of natural gas transported by Russia to Germany will double. At the end of 2019, when the construction of the last 160 kilometers of pipeline was left, the Trump administration suddenly demanded the suspension of the construction of the project, otherwise the companies involved in the construction would be sanctioned. Swiss and Dutch companies involved in the construction of the pipeline were forced to shut down. Since the beginning of this year, Russia has sent a pipeline laying ship of the "Chelsky Academy" to the Baltic Sea to continue the construction of unfinished pipeline laying work.
As early as 2017, the U.S. Senate proposed to further sanctions against Russia, including requesting the suspension of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 project, but was firmly opposed by Germany. Some German media pointed out that the United States' efforts to hinder economic exchanges between Germany and Russia are entirely for political purposes.
In view of the United States regarding China as the most deterrent opponent, after Biden took office, he will inevitably adjust the relationship between the United States and the European Union, and Germany is its main target of winning. Therefore, in addition to announcing the sanctions of European companies participating in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 project, the United States also sent various signals to show goodwill to Germany, such as saying that it will no longer withdraw troops from Germany, and that it will increase a small number of troops; on trade issues, it will properly resolve the tariff issue through negotiations; in terms of values, it will strive to encircle China by the EU, including Germany.
In the past four years, under Trump's principle of "America First", relations between the United States and Europe, especially the United States and Germany, have almost fallen to the lowest level. The Trump administration neither negotiated with Germany nor not notified Germany in advance, so it publicly announced that it would withdraw 10,000 troops from Germany. Especially when it comes to forcing Germany and Russia to stop the Nord Stream 2 project, the United States is even more nakedly interfering in Germany's internal affairs. On December 5, 2019, Robin Quinville, the U.S. interim office in Germany, said that this pipeline was a political tool for Russia to bypass Ukraine to split Europe.
The United States has always prevented European-Soviet/Europe and Russia from having good friends. Carter National Security Advisor Brzezinski, who served as the US president, clearly pointed out in his book " Big Chess Games ", "If relations between Europe and the United States deteriorate, it is indeed not difficult to imagine that Europe will compromise with Russia and drive the United States out of the European continent." After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States insisted on NATO's continuous expansion in the east, forcing Russia into a dead end.
For the United States, it is currently a rare opportunity to repair relations between Europe and the United States. However, Germany's trust in the United States has dropped significantly, and the United States has never given up its intention to monitor Germany.On the other hand, although Germany and Russia have fallen into a trough, Germany has always insisted on dialogue with Russia and has unswervingly determined to complete the construction of the "North Stream 2" natural gas pipeline project. Faced with this situation, although the US-German relationship will find a breakthrough to get out of the trough because the United States announced that it would give up sanctions from European companies participating in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 project, it is still uncertain whether it can truly get out of the trough.
(The author has served as the Chinese Ambassador to Austria, Director of the Policy Research Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director of the China Institute of International Studies)
