China is monitoring Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in order to plan its future moves. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a visit to Japan.
China is following Russia’s war against Ukraine and is learning lessons that could influence its future decisions, Stoltenberg said.
This was reported by the press service of the North Atlantic Alliance.
According to him, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not just a European crisis, but a challenge to the international order.
NATO Secretary General thanked Japan for anti-Russian sanctions, as well as for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Recall, as The Washington Post wrote, according to the Kiel Institute for World Economics, since the Russian invasion, the United States and Europe have promised to provide Ukraine with military and economic assistance in the amount of about $ 100 billion. Russia also needs foreign aid. She is running out of everything from artillery shells to drones and missiles. But only two rogue states known to us – Iran and North Korea – are so far ready to give the Kremlin military equipment.
Russia’s largest missing military supplier is China, the world’s largest exporter of high-tech goods and the world’s fourth largest arms exporter. Beijing can play the same role for Russia as the US does for Ukraine. China is trying to balance, because it is profitable for it to trade with the Russian Federation on good terms. According to Silverado Policy Accelerator researchers, China has become the Kremlin’s largest source of imports – in particular, semiconductors needed for the production of military and civilian equipment. China took advantage of the fact that Apple and Samsung stopped selling smartphones in Russia and captured 70% of the Russian market in the third quarter of 2022.
Chinese leader Xi does not want to be on the side of those who can lose. The Financial Times reports, drawing on conversations with Chinese officials, that “Beijing now perceives the possibility that Russia will fail to defeat Ukraine and emerge from the conflict as a ‘minor state’, greatly weakened economically and diplomatically on the world stage.” In other words, a losing Russia may not be a very useful future ally for China, another country with few friends in the world. And China, as the world’s largest trading nation, cannot afford to be isolated in the same way as Russia.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.