China’s Xi is set to meet Putin in a bid to weaken US standing at ‘very important’ gathering
He is scheduled to meet the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping Russian President Vladimir Putin In Moscow on Monday, just days after the International Criminal Court indicted the Russian strongman for war crimes.
Xi’s visit is the latest sign of Beijing’s hardening diplomatic ambitions, and comes amid rising tensions between East and West over the war in Ukraine, now in its 13th month. Xi recently scored a diplomatic victory, according to an intelligence official, bypassing the United States and amid a rapprochement between The Iranian regime and Saudi Arabia.
Rebecca Koffler, a former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, told Fox News Digital that Xi’s meeting with Putin is “very important” because “Xi has a huge incentive to prolong Putin’s war on Ukraine because China is only benefiting from it as both sides. Major strategic adversaries are draining their arsenals.” Ukraine’s Combat in a Proxy War”.
Koffler added, “This is why Xi will most likely agree to lethal aid to Russia. But they will most likely discuss how to channel this aid through third parties, so that China can bypass US sanctions policy.”
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin speak to each other during their meeting in Beijing on February 3. 4, 2022. The two will meet again on Monday as Xi begins a two-day visit to Moscow. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/Kremlin pool photo via AP)
When asked about Xi’s Putin meeting and possible phone call with Chinese President Joe Biden, the National Security Council’s director of strategic communications John Kirby told Fox News on Sunday That “the president wants to keep the lines of communication open with China, and I’ve only heard him say himself in recent days that he wants to find another opportunity to talk to President Xi, and I think it will happen; it will happen at the right time when the time is right to do it.” He continued, “It is especially important when tensions are so high between our two countries that these two leaders keep that line of communication open, and the President is committed to doing so.”
Kirby added, “There is no question that both China and Russia, and this is true of the National Security Strategy, are two countries that are annoyed by this rules-based international order that the United States and many of our allies and partners have created since the end of World War II. They don’t like That, and they want to rewrite the rules of the game globally, have certainly increased their collaboration and relationship recently.”
Fox News Digital sent a press query to the US State Department about criticism of Washington’s failure to impose sanctions on China and its alleged reluctance to confront Beijing’s aggressive foreign policy aimed at countering US interests, but no response had been received as of press time.
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Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, right, shakes hands with Saudi National Security Adviser Massad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, left, as Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, looks on in Beijing on March 11, 2023. (Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua via The Associated Press)
Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, told Fox News Digital that Xi is seeking to gain more momentum and influence from his diplomatic success with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia this month.
Beijing and Moscow have intensified ties in steps that began shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a meeting between the two leaders in Beijing during last year’s Winter Olympics, where they declared a “borderless” partnership.
China has sought to show itself as neutral in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, even while refusing to condemn Moscow’s aggression. Beijing has denounced Western sanctions against Moscow and accused NATO and the United States of provoking Putin’s military action.
Kremlin spokesman Yuri Ushakov noted that Putin and Xi had “very private, friendly and reliable personal times” and praised Beijing’s peace plan.
“We highly appreciate the conservative and balanced stance of the Chinese leadership on this issue,” Ushakov said.
Last month, China called for a ceasefire and peace talks between Kiev and Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cautiously welcomed Beijing’s intervention, but the offer did not seem to go any further.
Yuriy Poita, head of the Asia division of the New Geopolitical Research Network based in Kiev, believes that the Ukrainian government is going along with China’s involvement because it is reluctant to create another powerful enemy.
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A Ukrainian tank fires at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Ukraine, March 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
“Don’t brace the dragon when you’re fighting a bear,” Poita told the Associated Press.
Observers say that despite China’s position as mediator to settle the war between Ukraine and Russia, its refusal to condemn Russia’s action leaves no doubt about where Beijing’s sympathies lie.
All of this helps explain why harsh critics of China like Zhang do not see China as an honest power broker.
Zhang, author of China’s Coming Collapse, noted, “Russia might not be in this war if it weren’t for China’s support. China is actively financing the war through high-priced commodity purchases. China has opened up its financial system to institutions that are sanctioned by Russia. China has provided Location data to Russia [forces] To eliminate Ukrainian drones. China sells ammunition to the Russians.
It was reported last week that Chinese companies have sent assault rifles to RussiaUAV parts and body armor.
The Biden administration wants [China’s] Help climate change, don’t call China out, don’t impose sanctions on the Chinese. The Biden administration is afraid of confronting the Chinese. Zhang said China sees a green light to support its “borderless” partner, Russia.
“This is China’s comprehensive support for genocide,” Zhang continued, regarding Monday’s meeting. China’s human rights record has come under heavy criticism over the years for its violent repression of the Uighurs and Tibetans.
The Chinese expert went on to say that Putin and Xi should be aware of The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin Still, Xi went ahead and “announced the visit shortly before the international arrest warrant. This meeting is a sign that China supports Russia through thick and thin.”
President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, November 3. 14, 2022, in Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Koffler, an expert on Putin, did not mince words: “Biden’s policies have created a virtual monster – Russia, China, Iran, Syria and North Korea – all seeking to change the world and rearrange the balance of power. Putin and Xi are leading this transformation.” She added that Biden “single-handedly weakens the future strategic position of the United States in the world.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
