Against the background of the military failures of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since the beginning of the invasion.
Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time since the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin said he understood China’s concerns about the “crisis in Ukraine” and offered to clarify all issues in talks with Xi. What did it come from?
Relationship history
Putin and Xi met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand on September 15 and 16. For both leaders, it was one of several visits abroad. Putin has made only three trips abroad since the start of the war, Xi Jinping’s first official visit since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The leaders of India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and other countries were also present at the SCO summit, but the Kremlin emphasized the importance of the meeting between Putin and Xi.
“This meeting itself, taking into account the peculiarities of the current international situation, is of particular importance,” Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said the previous day. “China is approaching the crisis in Ukraine in a balanced way, clearly expressing its understanding of the reasons why Russia was forced to launch a special military operation, and this issue, of course, will be discussed in detail ,” he added, calling the meeting “a long-awaited personal interaction.”
The last time the two leaders met was during the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. Just a few weeks later, Russia invaded Ukraine. Many observers believe that Putin warned Xi about the attack on Ukraine, and he even asked the Russian dictator not to launch an attack before the end of the Beijing Olympics.
Isolation
After the invasion of Ukraine, Putin found himself in complete isolation, and meeting an influential world leader like Xi Jinping could be useful for the Kremlin to maintain Putin’s prestige on the world stage. However, the Russian president has more urgent tasks.
Russia is interested in China’s investment, technology and bilateral trade, as the war in Ukraine triggered an unprecedented wave of sanctions. After the mass withdrawal of Western companies from the Russian market, it is important for Putin that Chinese companies take their place.
But in reality it doesn’t happen. Russian exports to China are growing faster, while imports from China, on the contrary, are slowing down.
Moreover, as the West tries to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, Moscow tries to redirect supplies to the East, including China.
Moscow is also desperate for arms supplies to continue the war in Ukraine, but – despite sympathetic rhetoric – China is extremely cautious about military aid to Russia.
Primary Interests
Xi Jinping said after the meeting that in the face of changes in the world, times and history, China will work with Russia to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country and play a leading role in bringing stability to a changing world. and disorder.
The Chinese leader also announced that China will deepen cooperation with Russia in the fields of trade, agriculture and others. The Russian dictator spoke of the strong “friendship and mutual trust” between Moscow and Beijing, and also said that the Kremlin is “firmly committed to the principle of one China and condemns the provocative actions of individual countries on issues affecting China’s core interests.”
Chinese colony
The famous American historian Timothy Snyder believes that China authorized Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“China is responsible for the war. The Chinese government is really bad at accountability. They would rather pretend that they don’t make any decisions, that all decisions are made by the American people. But in the event of this war, America tried to prevent it, but could not. And the Chinese did not try to prevent it, but they got such an opportunity. In February, Putin was given permission for this war. And then once it started, they could have stopped him too, but they just let it go. Therefore, it is China’s war. China bears primary responsibility for the war,” Snyder said.
In his opinion, the Chinese believed in the Russian version that there would be a three-day war, and the West would not have time to do anything, but it did not happen.
“Of course, China does not care about Russia, it is treated as a certain colony. Now that the war is going on, they are not helping Russia because they care more about American consumers than Putin. In addition, it is beneficial for China if Russia becomes weak – it will be easier to control Russia. This is the trap that Russia and China are falling into now – there is no reason for the Chinese to help Russia, because it will hurt China. But in the long run , they want to exploit Russia’s natural resources, and this war will make it easier for them to do so,” emphasized Snyder.
Source: korrespondent
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.