The last few days in Asia have been very active. Chinese President Xi Jinping has left China for an international trip for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. He chose to organize a regional trip, focusing on the interests associated with the reconstruction of the Silk Road, one of his government’s most important and daring projects.
Also benefiting from the official meeting of the heads of state of the Eurasian organization Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which brings together China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Xi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday. This was the first meeting between the two since the start of the war in Ukraine in February of that year.
While transferring his speeches, Putin tried to strengthen their mutual affinity. He said he praised “China’s balanced stance on the conflict in Ukraine”, referred to the Chinese president as “comrade” and “an old friend”, and emphasized Russia’s commitment to “Chinese celibacy” (a direct agreement). Message to Taiwan) and on this occasion used it to once again criticize the US performance in the international arena.
However, as usual, the thing that draws the most attention lately is between the lines of this meeting. The report prepared by the Chinese side is much shorter and more objective than the Russian show. The words used in the official document published by the Beijing government were carefully chosen. He limited himself to talking about “strong mutual support on matters of fundamental interest”, the importance of “maintaining the security of the region” and “protecting the common interests of developing and emerging countries”. He mentioned BRICS, among other strategic organizations, and talked about cooperation in the fields of trade, agriculture and connectivity. Not a direct word about Ukraine.
At the same time, President Putin made public that Xi had raised “questions and concerns” about Ukraine during the meeting, which he understood as something legitimate. While he tries to downplay its importance, the sign is nonetheless a sign of China’s unease with the development of the war.
Putin is interested in strengthening the alliance with China to add validity and weight to his own decisions, especially at this sensitive moment in the conflict when Ukrainian forces are retaking some of the lost territory. The Sino-Russian alliance is the basis of Putin’s “anti-Western” rhetoric, as well as keeping the US and European powers on constant alert.
For the Chinese, it is appropriate to reinforce the narrative of the relative decline of the existing order and the need to seek new agreements and rules for the game of international politics. It is also a way of responding to US hardened actions against the Chinese in recent years, and an opportunity to defend its own domestic political model for the longevity and non-interference of the Communist Party. . . .
But despite all this, it is clear that we are dealing with a partnership that includes significant asymmetries, great sensitivities, and above all an agreement sustained by the comfort of the Chinese and a utilitarian vision of what the Russians can represent. Beijing. at the moment.
Putin is trying to establish a marriage with China. Xi appears to be betting on unlimited flirtation with Russia for now.
source: Noticias
