Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to China on Thursday to strengthen the already close relationship with Beijing. It was the first visit to a foreign country following Putin's "reelection" as president of Russia, and it underscores the vital importance of China to the Russian military effort in Ukraine and its economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted Putin with great fanfare in front of The Great Hall of the People which included rows of marching troops, a 21-gun salute, and children waving Russian and Chinese flags.
Putin arrives in Beijing to meet with Xi.
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) May 16, 2024
You’ll notice both Xi and Putin have trailing officials carrying their nation’s respective nuclear footballs.
Simply a matter of protocol? Or an intentional display of strength and unity? pic.twitter.com/cUuqzLFidf
"Both sides want to show that despite what is happening globally, despite the pressure that both sides are facing from the U.S., both sides are not about to turn their backs on each other anytime soon," said Hoo Tiang Boon, a professor who studies Chinese foreign policy at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.
Both leaders pledged a "new era" of partnership between Russia and China with its primary focus being to contain the United States and supplant it as the world's number one power.
Russia and China "are determined to defend their legitimate rights and interests, resist any attempts to hinder the normal development of bilateral ties, interfere in the internal affairs of the two states, and limit the economic, technological or foreign policy potential of Russia and China," the joint statement read.
On Ukraine, "The Russian side positively assesses China's objective and unbiased position on the Ukrainian issue."
China "supports the efforts of the Russian side to ensure security and stability, national development and prosperity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and opposes outside interference in Russia's internal affairs."
As far as the U.S. is concerned, Russia and China have a problem with "U.S. attempts to violate the strategic balance":
China has been increasingly assertive in its claims to a number of contested territories in the region recently, with tension between Beijing and the U.S. focused sharply on the future of the democratically governed island of Taiwan, just of China's east coast. Xi has vowed to assert Chinese control over the island, which the U.S. is bound by law to help defend, and he has never ruled out using force.
Thursday's meeting was yet another affirmation of the friendly "no limits" relationship the two leaders formalized in 2022, just before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, Russia has become increasingly economically dependent on China as Western sanctions cut Moscow's access to much of the international trading system. China's increased trade with Russia, totaling $240 billion last year, has helped the country mitigate some of the worst blowback from sanctions.
Biden thinks that the nexus of conflict in the world is between "democracies and autocracies." If that's true, we've already lost. Europe is a weak sister with the exception of some of the former Soviet states who know what Putin is really up to. But the hearts of Germany, France, and Great Britain are simply not up to the fight.
Challenging Russia and China won't necessarily lead to war. Reagan challenged Soviet Russia and won without firing a shot. The Big Three European powers don't have the stomach for a long, twilight struggle against autocracies. This is especially true as their governments are beginning to look more and more like autocratic states.
"The United States still thinks in terms of the Cold War and is guided by the logic of bloc confrontation, putting the security of 'narrow groups' above regional security and stability, which creates a security threat for all countries in the region," the joint statement said. "The U.S. must abandon this behavior."
Neither Russia nor China gives a whit about "regional security" unless they're able to dominate the nations in that region.
Moscow has diverted the bulk of its energy exports to China and relies on Chinese companies for imports of high-tech components for its military industries — to circumvent Western sanctions.
"I and President Putin agree, we should actively look for convergence points of the interests of both countries, to develop each's advantages, and deepen integration of interests, realizing each others' achievements," Xi said.
Russia-China military ties have also strengthened over the last few years. They've held a series of joint war games, including naval drills and patrols by long-range bombers over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.
Four more years of Joe Biden will see Russia and China firmly in control of most of the world. Either that, or we'll be involved in World War III. Neither outcome is desirable, and it may already be too late.
