The journey of Xi Jinping intervenes when Vladmir Poutine suffers isolation marked by the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Penal Court(ICC) against him, for “war crime” in Ukraine.
Some analysts say Xi Jinping will try to portray himself as a neutral leader in the ongoing war in Ukraine, while urging Russia and Ukraine to begin peace talks. But although Xi Jinping laid out China’s position on the war in Ukraine in a 12-point document, many Western countries remain skeptical about the real intentions of Beijing, which continues its partnership with Moscow.
Weapon delivery
The United States has warned that China may consider supplying lethal weapons to Russia, even if the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said earlier this month that beijinghad assured that she would not take that step.
If Beijing wants to present itself, moreover, as a mediator in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, it is not certain that it is willing to push Russia and Ukraine to start peace talks.
China still hasn’t condemned Russia’s war and that proves it hasn’t changed its stance on the Russian invasion, some analysts say.
Beijing can play a role
Ukraine hopes the Chinese president will use his ‘influence’ on Vladimir Putin during his three-day visit to Moscow to ‘end’ the war.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thus directly called on Beijing to participate in a summit to discuss what kyiv describes as a formula for peace.
Mr. Zelensky believes, in fact, that China is one of the few countries capable of exerting influence on Russia and pushing the two parties to resume peace talks.
However, some Western countries are skeptical about China’s true position on the war. China remains one of Russia’s main trading partners, at a time when Moscow has to deal with a large number of sanctions imposed by the Western bloc led by the United States.
“We hope that the strategic partnership between China and Russia will uphold international fairness and justice on the one hand, and promote our countries’ common prosperity and development on the other.”Xi Jinping said in Moscowduring his meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Economic cooperation
Beijing is the top buyer of Russian oil and the volume of trade between the two countries increased by 34.3% in 2022, according to Chinese state media, Global Times.
“We have a lot of common tasks and goals”said Vladimir Putin, welcoming that Beijing pays “great attention to the development of relations between Russia and China”.
The Russian president also said he was ready to discuss the peace plan proposed by Beijing to settle the conflict in Ukraine.
Beijing, which has also stepped up its diplomatic charm offensive in recent months, holding a series of summits with the leaders of Belarus, Iran and Saudi Arabia, while trying to normalize relations with Western countries like Australia and Germany.