'Fire vs lamp': China torches US for hypocrisy; 'why can you trade with Russia but not us?'

Amid escalating trade tensions, China on Thursday lambasted US for its hypocritical nature after it accused Beijing of being "the most important supplier" of Russia's war efforts against Ukraine.

In a sharp rebuttal, China said that US continues to engage in trade with Russia to this day by only allowing itself "to set fires while forbidding others from lighting lamps."


This came after a US representative at a security council meeting on Ukraine accused China of being "the most important supplier" of Russia's war efforts.

Drawing a sharp criticism, Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, dismissed the claim and said that such remarks from US are completely unacceptable.

He noted a heavy flow of weapons and ammunition into the battlefield and no sign of an end to the war. "I would like to reiterate that while weapons may win wars, they cannot bring lasting peace. The reckless transfer of arms to the battlefield will only intensify the conflict, prolong the fighting, increase the risk of proliferation, and inflict more casualties and suffering on people in both the conflict zone and the broader region," Geng said, according to Global Times.

Terming the US's allegations as "completely unacceptable," he said that China has responded to such accusations on multiple occasions in past meetings.


According to Global Times, in a strongly worded response, Geng said that China is not the creator of Russia-Ukraine conflict and "has never provided lethal weapons to any party". He asserted that China has always "strictly controlled the export of dual-use items, including drones."

Noting that UN security council has not imposed sanctions on any party to the conflict, he said that China maintains normal trade with both Russia and Ukraine.

Slamming the US, Geng said that Washington itself "continues to engage in trade with Russia to this day."

"Why should it be acceptable for the US to do so, but not for others? Isn’t this ‘only allowing oneself to set fires while forbidding others from lighting lamps?'" Geng asked, according to Global Times.

Geng underscored the need for a resolution. While criticising US, he said that Washington, on one hand, cannot ask China "to play a constructive role in ending the war, while on the other hand continuously smear and pressure China."

He then urged US to stop playing blame game, scapegoating others and work seriously to stop the war. "It is the US that repeatedly engages in smearing, slandering, and attacking other countries in the UN Security Council chamber. Does the US not recognise how different its behaviour is from that of other Council members?" Geng said.