Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Uzbekistan today for the first time face-to-face since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Putin said China had “questions and concerns” about the war in Ukraine, making it both notable and cryptic admission from Putin that China may not fully approve of Russia’s invasion.
The meeting comes amid rising tensions between both countries and the West. Increasing animosity from Western nations, especially the United States, over the two authoritarian leaders’ agendas, is particularly important to Putin.
Putin has become more isolated by the United States and its allies over his invasion of the neighboring country Ukraine.
The summit is meant to show the strength of the Russia-China relationship in the face of worsening relationships with the U.S., Europe, and allied nations.
The last time Xi and Putin met in person was about three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. At that meeting, they triumphantly declared the arrival of a “new era” in international relations, and a “no limits” partnership between their nations. They inked a promise to collaborate more against the West, spelling out in a 5,000-word joint statement their shared grievances towards the U.S. and its allies.
More than 200 days later, much has changed, but not necessarily n the ways either country could have predicted, or desired.
But China is perturbed by how much of an impact Putin’s war has had on the global economy, and has been careful not to give material support to Russia that could trigger Western sanctions on China’s own economy.
The Xi-Putin partnership is considered one of the most significant developments in geopolitics after China’s own spectacular rise over the past 40 years. The Russian war in Ukraine is making China nervous.
Having grown ever closer to Moscow under Xi, Beijing has a direct stake in the war’s outcome. If Russia is defeated, the West will be strengthened, and Russia will become a less useful and reliable asset in China’s great power rivalry with the U.S.
A weakened Moscow might also be less of a distraction for the U.S., thereby enabling Washington to focus more squarely on Beijing.
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