China is set to roll out the red carpet for tyrant leader Vladimir Putin despite his raging war in Ukraine as President Xi seeks to build his relationship with Russia and claim “geopolitical supremacy over the United States.”
The Russian president will visit Beijing on Thursday, marking the start of his new presidential term in a show of support from his most powerful political partner, Xi Jinping.
Putin’s two-day mission is expected to highlight the couple’s “boundless” partnership, which the men toasted in February 2022 as a tough counterweight to America’s global influence.
The partnership between Xi and Putin has come under increasing pressure as the Biden administration sought to isolate Russia from its vital Chinese lifeline after Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, which began later that same month.
China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Putin’s trip on Tuesday and said Xi and Putin would exchange views on relations and “international and regional issues of common interest.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, Oct. 18, 2023. Putin will visit Beijing on Thursday, which will mark the beginning of his new presidential term.
Despite the pair’s “boundless” partnership, China has so far avoided providing weapons and ammunition to Russia’s war effort.
While diplomats and analysts expect Putin to pressure Xi to further support Russia’s war economy, from machines and chemicals to help its military industries to deeper discounted oil and gas purchases, the trip is likely to Putin is largely symbolic of a shared world vision focused on countering a US-led order.
“China is Russia’s strategic partner; this is the path chosen by the president of Russia and the leader of China, and nothing is going to change that, no matter what the West tries to say or do,” a Russian official said.
Other analysts have said that Xi and Putin’s meeting has weight in itself, since: “The very act of receiving Putin by Beijing – by itself – is already a form of support for Russia, since China is the only major country left that has not isolated Moscow,” said James Char, a security expert at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
“China needs to have Russia on its side to subvert the US-led world order and in its long-term struggle with the US for geopolitical supremacy.”
Pressure from Washington continues to mount on Beijing over its alleged support for the Russian defense industry, but Xi has stepped up his calls for Europe and other countries to help the world avoid a “Cold War,” suggesting they resist what Beijing considers US efforts. to contain China.
Putin’s arrival follows a mission to Beijing late last month by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in part to warn China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, against deepening military support for Russia.
During his meeting with the Chinese leader, Blinken emphasized the importance of ‘responsibly managing’ differences between the United States and China.
Blinken said he raised concerns with Xi about China’s support for Russia and its invasion of Ukraine, as well as other issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, human rights and the production and export of synthetic opioid precursors.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People late last month.
The partnership between Xi and Putin has come under increasing pressure as the Biden administration sought to isolate Russia from its vital Chinese lifeline after Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
But despite the “boundless” friendship between Xi and the Russian leader, China has so far avoided providing arms and ammunition for Russia’s war effort.
“I’m sure Putin would like to enlist China’s help in getting Russia over the line in Ukraine,” said Alexander Neill, a Singapore-based defense analyst.
“One element of this mission that will be closely examined will be what else China can do without incurring action from Washington,” Neill said.
Analysts in China and Russia said that while Beijing would prefer a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine, it would tolerate the war anyway and continue to prioritize trade and diplomatic relations with Moscow over the West.
Russia, which has shown no signs of abandoning the war, will become increasingly dependent on China as a trading partner and as a key diplomatic ally in its deepening conflict with the West.
It comes just a day after Putin praised economic ties between the two countries in an interview with the Xinhua news agency.
He said: “Today, relations between Russia and China have reached the highest level ever achieved and, despite the difficult global situation, continue to strengthen.”
Putin praised the “great prospects” of the countries’ partnership and their joint efforts to “strengthen sovereignty, protect the territorial integrity and security of our countries.”
The leaders sought to deepen cooperation in “industry and high technology, outer space and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and other innovative sectors,” Putin added.
French President Emmanuel Macron (CL) and his wife Brigitte Macron (L), the wife of Chinese President Peng Liyuan (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (CR) have a drink at a restaurant on the Tourmalet Pass in the Pyrenees , France, May 7, 2024
The meeting comes just two weeks after the Chinese leader landed in France for a controversial state visit in which French leader Emmanuel Macron attempted to convince his counterpart to use his influence over Putin to move toward ending the war. in Ukraine.
Macron, initially accompanied by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urged Xi not to allow the export of any technology that could be used by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and called on Beijing to do everything possible to put end to the war.
Xi, for his part, warned the West not to “smear” China over the conflict and also responded to accusations that Chinese overcapacity was causing global trade imbalances.
Following a bilateral meeting with Xi, Macron welcomed China’s “commitments” not to supply weapons to Russia, while expressing concern about possible deliveries of dual-use technology.
He thanked Xi for backing his idea of a truce in all conflicts, including Ukraine, during the Paris Olympics this summer, pointedly adding that France was not seeking “regime change” in Russia.
