On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Russia, at a very important time for Russian President Putin, whose war in Ukraine has been going on for a year, and he faces almost complete international rejection and harsh sanctions.
newspaper says Washington Post The visit will provide a “giant morale boost” to the Russian president, as well as an opportunity to cement the idea of the “anti-American world order” that the Kremlin leader preached.
In the article written by Robin Dixon, director of the Moscow bureau, the newspaper’s chief international correspondent, Putin seems to be looking forward to Chinese support very much in preparation for a “global confrontation” and in anticipation of Beijing showing “its willingness to use its partnership with Moscow to confront Washington, even if that means granting approval.” Implicit on Putin’s brutal and destabilizing war.
And it quotes analysts and researchers as saying that “the gloomy expectations in China are that we are entering an era of confrontation with the United States,” clearly.
“Xi’s visit shows a siding with China, Russia and Iran aligned once morest the United States, Britain and other NATO allies – in competition for global influence and alliances with countries like South Africa and Saudi Arabia,” says Dixon.
In an article published Sunday evening in China’s People’s Daily, Putin talked regarding the brotherly friendship between Russia and China, which he said stand “side by side” on a number of issues including ” once morest Western hegemony,” according to a translation by the Washington Post.
“The US policy of simultaneously deterring Russia and China, as well as all those who do not bow to American dictation, is becoming increasingly fierce and aggressive,” Putin wrote. He also warned that NATO “is seeking to penetrate the Asia-Pacific region”.
The journalist, an expert on Russia, says the “ceremonial pomp” of welcoming the Chinese leader will boost Putin’s image as a “modern tsar”.
The two presidents will dine in a 15th-century stone room in the Kremlin built by Ivan III, the tsar known as a “land collector”, apparently “inspired by Putin’s quest to annex the lands of neighboring countries.”
The newspaper warns that “the world stands at a dangerous crossroads” with the arrival of the Chinese president to Russia, amid Putin’s frantic anti-Western rhetoric.
She says that there is a danger of a global division that may last for “decades” following “authoritarian leaders line up” with each other, which impedes coordination on important files such as climate and human rights and increases tensions.
And it quotes analysts specializing in China as saying that for President Xi, the visit means “Beijing’s global situation” and not the search for an ally who can send weapons, as is the case with Putin.
An analyst told the newspaper that the visit is “to show that China can mediate in international disputes and is a reliable partner, and it is also a warning to Washington regarding the need to negotiate with Beijing and to Europe regarding China’s importance as a major global power.”
“And Xi may also be intent on showing Putin that if there is a new world order, China will lead it.”
Beijing has so far refused to condemn the Russian invasion, instead blaming NATO and the United States, and has criticized Western sanctions on Russia.
Beijing has boosted trade with Moscow, “including a sharp increase in Chinese exports of electronic chips that Moscow needs to produce weapons – and a sharp rise in purchases of Russian oil,” according to the newspaper.
The United States warned Beijing once morest supplying weapons to Russia, angering senior Chinese officials, who accused Washington of blatant “hypocrisy” given the massive flow of American arms to Kiev.
China has called for a cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia and the start of peace talks as part of a 12-point proposal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his willingness to talk to Xi.
But the plan appears to have no chance of success, largely because it does not address Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory, according to the Washington Post.
The Kremlin claims it attaches “great interest” to the proposal while insisting that there can be no peace until Ukraine accepts “new realities”, an apparent reference to Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky, in turn, pledged to return all occupied territories, including Crimea.