XI-PUTIN MEETING
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met at the historic Great Hall of the People, seat of power of the Chinese Communist Party, on Thursday (May 16), where a welcome ceremony for Russia’s leader included a guard of honour by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
WHAT THEY SAID?
PUTIN: Calling Xi “my dear friend”, Putin said it is of fundamental importance that relations between Russia and China are “not opportunistic”, and “are not directed against anyone”.
Xi said the China-Russia friendship was “everlasting”, and had “become a model for a new type of international relations”. The two leaders later attended a concert to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic ties.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TIMING:
Putin’s two-day visit to China comes when Russia has taken a firm grip on the course of the war in Ukraine. Xi has just returned from a tour of Europe where he met with the President of France, as well as the leaders of Hungary and Serbia, both of whom are friends with Putin.
CHINA RUSSIA & THE UKRAINIAN WAR
China and Russia signed a “no-limits” strategic partnership only days before Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Chinese role in the war has been a major concern for the West, led by the United States.
- China was the “top supplier” of dual-use items, which have both civilian and military applications.
- China is supplying tech that Russia is using to build missiles, tanks, and other battlefield weapons.
- The sales of Chinese logistics equipment like lorries (to transport troops) and excavators (to dig trenches) to Russia have increased by four to seven times since the war began.
IS THE WEST OK WITH THIS KIND OF SUPPORT BY CHINA?
In his talks with both France’s President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, Xi pledged that China would not sell arms to Russia, and would control the flow of dual-use goods to its military.
The West expects Xi to use his leverage with Putin to end the war.
While signing a statement deepening the strategic relationship with Russia, Xi said on Thursday that both sides agreed that a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis was the “right direction”.
SINO RUSSIAN RELATIONSHIP
Last year, a White House spokesperson had said that the China-Russia relationship was a “marriage of convenience”, and the American National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had referred to a “cartoonish notion that these two countries have become unbreakable allies”.
There is a history to the development of Sino-Russian ties, and the US has had a role to play in its evolution.
HISTORY OF SINO RUSSIAN RELATIONSHIP
The relationship between China and the Soviet Union did not begin well.
- When Chairman Mao Zedong visited Moscow after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, he was made to wait for weeks for a meeting with Joseph Stalin.
- During the Cold War, China and the USSR were rivals, competing for control of the global communist movement.
- Tensions between the countries rose dangerously in the early 1960s, and they fought a brief border war in 1969.
- The relationship began to improve after the death of Mao in 1976, but remained frosty right until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
IN POST COLD WAR ERA
In the post Cold War-era, economic relations have formed the “new strategic basis” for Sino-Russian relations. China became Russia’s biggest trading partner, and the largest Asian investor in Russia. China views Russia as a powerhouse of raw material and a valuable market for its consumer goods.
The West’s hostile approach towards Russia after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 brought Moscow closer to Beijing.
India has always felt it was the West that pushed Russia into a tighter embrace of China.
CONCERNS FOR INDIA
For New Delhi, the Russia-China defence axis throws up critical questions.
About 60-70% of Indian defence supplies come from Russia, and New Delhi needs regular and reliable supplies especially at a time when Indian and Chinese soldiers are locked in a standoff at the border for the last four years.
Many western analysts have cautioned India about a scenario in which Russia becomes a “junior partner” of China.
At the same time, India would not want the Russian defence industry to suffer as a result of western sanctions — at least in the short-to-medium term.
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