Ukraine War: Diplomatic Commander Wang Yi Visits Russia … China’s “neutrality” claim

Russian President Vladimir Putin likes very long tables. It is famous for talking to the other person sitting at the opposite end of the long table, raising questions about whether they could hear each other.

But it was different when Wang, the head of China’s foreign affairs headquarters, met with a member of the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party.

President Putin and the royal councilor were seated relatively close together at an oval table, within handshake distance.

The previous table seating arrangement, where they were seated facing each other in the middle of the table rather than at either end, would have had the same effect.

In the released video of the meeting, this distance was seen as a symbolic move. It shows that you feel safe enough to be that close to the representative of your very important friend country.

Of course, Russia and China have not always been close. A massive underground air defense facility built in Beijing decades ago was designed to protect the capital’s citizens from a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

But now the current Chinese administration, led by President Xi Jinping, sees Russia as a front-line adversary against US spheres of influence. It can be thought of as a lone state in the international community like North Korea, but it is still a useful role geopolitically.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government showed no signs of panic when it invaded Ukraine weeks after President Putin’s return home after meeting at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and together declaring an “unlimited” partnership between the two countries.

As a result, many wonder if President Xi, who was with President Putin, who must have had his head full of invasion at the time, did not hear any warnings.

Clearly, China is walking a very precarious path in this war in Ukraine.

While Xi may feel he is walking this path confidently, others feel that China’s position of neutrality is crumbling and narrowing at the edge of the road, losing ground.

Wang Yuan and President Putin said that China and Russia are promoting “peace and stability” together.

However, the fact that he visits Russia right before the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine and uses the expression “peace and stability” seems ridiculous in the international community.

Of course, China is also well aware of this. However, in the current situation, it calculated that it was more important for the country to support Putin morally, so it ventured to Russia, knowing that its reputation would suffer.

Meanwhile, at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Commissioner Wang said, “Dear friend, we are ready to exchange views on issues of mutual interest and look forward to reaching a new agreement.”

“Despite the great upheaval on the world stage,” Lavrov said, the two countries stand in solidarity and stand up for each other’s interests. It is a remark as if the current upheaval is not a chaos caused by the government of the country, but a being floating high in the sky.

Earlier this week, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned that the conflict in Ukraine could spiral out of control if certain countries continued to add fuel to the fire.

The phrase was aimed at the United States, which has openly provided military aid to Ukraine and warned China not to provide arms and ammunition to Russia.

Meanwhile, experts are analyzing what options China might consider if Putin appears to be on the verge of a humiliating defeat in this war.

U.S. experts say China is already providing technologies and equipment that may appear non-military on the surface but can also be used dually for military purposes, such as repairing jets.

Nor did China try to hide the fact that it was buying Russian oil and gas to bail Russia out of several markets due to post-war sanctions.

Moreover, during the meeting with Wang, Putin said he was looking forward to Xi’s visit to Russia soon. He is expected to meet in a few months.

In a way, Russia is now doing a dirty job that China is not willing to do. It is to drain the West’s military resources and put pressure on NATO.

And if it cripples the Russian economy, will China really care? Rather, Russia will have to import Chinese goods to recover its economy later.

The problem is that the West is pretty much united, Russia’s victory in this war seems overdone, and China is often seen side by side with the rogue states that have pushed Europe into a bloody protracted war.

China must be careful not to cause more than it can handle. In addition, the rest of the world should be wary of China, which has grown into an Asian giant, being more involved in this war than it is now.