Russia seeks solidarity with its most powerful friend. Xi Jinping travels to Moscow to see Vladimir Putin. But China’s favor comes at a cost to the Kremlin.
Vladimir Putin doesn’t get many visitors anymore. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, only a few heads of state and government have strayed to Moscow. The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko is one of the regular guests, and the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was also received in the Kremlin in March. It is primarily the heads of so-called rogue states who are currently backing the Russian leadership – which is a problem for the Kremlin.
Because Russia wants to send a signal to its own people and the international community that it is not isolated. That’s one of the reasons why Putin is now looking to close ranks with Xi Jinping, his most powerful friend. That’s why the Chinese President is coming to Moscow next week from Monday to Wednesday. Three days, the length of the visit alone is a special signal.
Nevertheless, the alliance with China is not easy for Putin. The more the Kremlin boss gets lost in his war of aggression, the more dependent he becomes on Xi. Meanwhile, the Chinese president is pursuing a three-pronged strategy: he wants to capitalize on Russia’s weaknesses, not anger the West too much, and at the same time prevent Moscow from losing the war. An incredibly complicated balancing act.
backing for Putin
“During the talks, topical issues of further developing relations into an all-encompassing partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China will be discussed,” the Kremlin said on Friday.
To ensure that everything goes smoothly from Monday, China’s top foreign policy leader Wang Yi prepared for Xi Jinping’s arrival back in February. At the time, Wang emphasized Beijing’s willingness to strengthen “the strategic partnership (…) and cooperation in all directions” with Moscow. The Russian-Chinese relations are “not directed against third countries and resist their pressure”. That too was a clear signal to the international community that China would not let Russia fall.
At least publicly, China has so far acted cautiously in the Ukraine war, often playing with a strategic ambiguity. At the same time, Beijing was concerned that it would also become the target of Western sanctions – and was therefore reluctant to position itself too offensively. But this policy is increasingly coming to an end.
Many experts now agree: Xi Jinping is firmly on Putin’s side in this conflict.
The United States in particular is pushing for punitive measures against Beijing in this case, without having been specific so far.
This means that China is also slowly but steadily increasing its military support for Russia. Xi will not let Putin lose because the Chinese leadership fears Putin’s fall if Russia is defeated. He needs him for a new “Cold War” with the USA. And since the People’s Republic shares a long border with Russia, potential chaos in the neighboring country affects China’s specific security interests. Therefore, the West must at least expect Xi Jinping to intensify his support for Putin.
“China wants the war to end”
For China, a destabilized nuclear power like Russia would be a nightmare, and the war is going badly for Putin. Beijing had probably hoped that the conflict would quickly be won by Russia. “I think China really wants the war to end,” China expert Yun Sun from the US think tank Stimson Center told the German Press Agency in February, adding: “A complete defeat of Russia is not in China’s interest .”
