At a time when Russian thug and war criminal Vladimir Putin is flailing militarily in his brutal assault on Ukraine, China appears eager to throw him a lifeline diplomatically and militarily. Coupled with increased tensions over China's belligerency in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan, China appears to have calculated that their alliance with the Kremlin against the West will serve them in the near term. From the Associated Press' report:
"Relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest point since the Cold War, and ties between China and the U.S. are also under serious strain. Moscow suspended its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with Washington this week. And the U.S. expressed concern in recent days that China could provide arms and ammunition to Russia.
Speaking at the start of talks with [Senior Chinese diplomat] Wang, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed ties between the two countries and added that the Kremlin expects Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Russia.
The Russian leader noted escalating international tensions, adding that 'in this context, cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the global arena is particularly important for stabilizing the international situation.' [snip]
Earlier Wednesday, Wang held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 'Our ties have continued to develop dynamically, and despite high turbulence in the global arena, we have shown the readiness to speak in defense of each other’s interests,' Lavrov said.
Wang responded in kind, underlining Beijing’s focus on deepening ties with Russia — a relationship it has said has 'no limits.'” (our emphasis)
It's no surprise that two aggressive autocracies would have a natural affinity for each other, especially with China watching the West's continuing resolve against Putin's invasion as a bellwether for its actions against Taiwan. However, China also has significant trade with the U.S., Canada and the European Union. Perhaps they're counting on the maintenance of that trade over concerns about an alliance with Russia seeking expanded territories. The first test will be to see if China supplies military aid to Russia struggling under sanctions and losses in Ukraine. If arms are supplied, that will trigger a reevaluation of our and our allies' trade relations and other interactions with Beijing, including more pushback on their moves in the South China Sea.
(photo: Putin and Wang Yi in Moscow. Reuters)
