China’s Xi shows he doesn’t want to follow Putin in diplomatic isolation

It turns out that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s partnership with Vladimir Putin has limits: He doesn’t want to follow the Russian leader into diplomatic isolation.

With speeches and gestures in recent weeks, Xi has taken his most important steps to carve out space between Beijing and Moscow since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine nearly nine months ago. The latest sign came at a Group of 20 summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, where China signed a communique on Wednesday saying “the majority of members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine.”

“The Russian president is almost alone in the world with his policy and has no strong coalition partners,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who met Xi in Beijing earlier this month, told reporters in Bali on Wednesday. He noted the “surprisingly clear wording” of the statement.

That show of solidarity was followed by relatively warm meetings between Xi and the world leaders who led the campaign to punish Moscow, including his first sit-down with US President Joe Biden on Monday. In those talks, Xi strengthened his opposition to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine – a stance that outlines China’s red lines without completely abandoning Russia.

The move appeared to be part of a wider return to pragmatism since Xi set himself up to rule for life by breaking succession norms at a two-decade party congress last month. China has also eased Covid quarantine requirements in the past week and delivered a plan to rescue the battered property sector – telegraphing changes to key policies that have hurt financial markets and the economy.

Andrew Gilhomme, director of analysis for China and North Asia at Control Risk, said, “finally getting all these meetings legitimately raises the possibility of whether this is a turning point after the Congress where we finally see that minor change.” Will see.”

“Yet I would be very surprised if we saw a more fundamental change in policy,” he said. “And certainly I don’t think there’s any chance for Russia to leave and make big changes.”

Xi is seeking to re-establish himself on the world stage after refraining from traveling abroad for the first two and a half years of the pandemic – a period during which opinion of China deteriorated in most developed countries. During his meeting with Biden in Bali, Xi sought to mold himself as an adult in a world riddled with divisions.

‘politician’

“A politician should think about this and know where to lead his country,” Xi said in a comment. “They must also think and know how to get along with other countries and the wider world.”

That doesn’t mean Xi has broken the “no borders” partnership he announced with Putin just weeks before the Russian leader launched the biggest conflict on the European continent since World War II. Beijing views Moscow as a valuable partner in challenging US power and still refuses to publicly condemn the war.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi was the only diplomat at the G-20 to officially meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who stood in for Putin. This was his 10th chat this year.

Wang said China would continue to “uphold an objective and impartial position and play a constructive role” in promoting peace talks. In turn, Lavrov said he was confident that “the continuation of our comprehensive partnership and approach towards strategic cooperation will be ensured.”

Justina Szudlik, deputy head of research at the Polish Institute of International Affairs in Warsaw, said, “China is trying to wear a ‘peaceful’ cap, but in reality there is no significant criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, killing of innocent civilians.” ” “The anti-Western and anti-American glue sticks China and Russia very strongly.”

Still, China’s recent summit signals that improving relations with some of Russia’s biggest critics is a priority – and that requires convincing them that Xi is not allied with Putin. During the G-20, Xi held talks with leaders of US allies, including South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol, Australia’s Anthony Albanese and French President Emmanuel Macron. The Chinese president is scheduled to sit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Thursday.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Macron called Xi’s commitment to the UN charter “sincere” and said he had “no doubt that the partnership with Russia has its limits”.

“China has always strongly condemned the use of nuclear weapons in any form, China has always kept that limit,” Macron said. “And President Xi Jinping has always been clear on this, he is calling for peace and an end to the conflict.”

It doesn’t mean that all is well. In a rare unscripted moment at the G20, Xi confronted Canadian leader Justin Trudeau and accused him of leaking details of a private meeting between the men. Xi told Trudeau, “If you are honest, we should communicate with mutual respect.” “If not, I’m not sure how it will turn out.”

A Ukrainian diplomat in Beijing saw China’s efforts to distance itself from Russia as a Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has largely reclaimed territory since early September. The diplomat said this showed that the combination of Ukrainian troops and Western weapons was stronger than those of Russia and China.

‘Sign to the West’

Putin told Xi during a meeting in Uzbekistan that month that he understood Beijing’s “questions and concerns” about the conflict, a rare sign of tensions between the two. As the Russian blowback grows, Kremlin officials including former President Dmitry Medvedev have warned about the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Then, at the Scholz visit earlier this month, Xi warned against any use of nuclear weapons. A US statement after the Biden meeting, which China did not dispute, said the two leaders opposed Russia’s loose talk of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “There is a clear desire from Beijing that they want to move the US relationship onto a more stable basis,” said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “All of this is signaling to the West, rather than a signal to turn away from Putin in particular. More clarification and indication that they want to find a stable way forward.”

— With assistance from Lucille Liu, Jing Li, Yanping Li, Jibang Xiao, Sarah Zheng, Ilya Arkhipov and Sami Adghirny.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)