By The Associated Press
Feb 22, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy chief Wang Yi during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Anton Novoderezhkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russia
and China showcased their deepening ties Wednesday in meetings others
are watching for signs that Beijing might offer the Kremlin stronger support
for its war in Ukraine.
The visit by Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party’s most
senior foreign policy official, to Moscow comes as the conflict in Ukraine
continues to upend
the global diplomatic order.
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 that China could provide arms and ammunition to Russia.
Speaking at the start of talks with 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, whose
own rule over Russia is imperiled by the war, 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.”
While Wang said “Chinese-Russian relations aren’t directed
against any third countries and certainly can’t be subject to pressure from any
third countries,” the specter of the war and how it has galvanized the West and
deepened its divide with Russia hung over his meeting with Putin.
For instance, Wang emphasized that Moscow and Beijing both
support “multipolarity and democratization of international relations” — a
reference to their shared goal of countering the perceived U.S. dominance in
global affairs.
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.”
China has pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of
Ukraine while echoing Moscow’s claim that the U.S. and NATO were to blame for
provoking the Kremlin . The government in Beijing also has blasted the
sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
Russia, in turn, has staunchly supported China amid tensions
with the U.S. over Taiwan.
The two nations have held military drills showcasing their
defense ties. China, Russia and South Africa are
holding naval drills in the Indian Ocean this week.
A Russian frigate, the Admiral Gorshkov, arrived in Cape
Town in recent days sporting the letters Z and V on its sides, letters that
mark Russian weapons on the front lines in Ukraine and are used as a patriotic
symbol in Russia.
The rapprochement has worried the West. U.S. Secretary of
State Antony Blinken has said any Chinese involvement in the Kremlin’s war
effort would be a “serious problem.”
Asked Wednesday whether NATO has any indication that China
might provide arms or other support to Russia’s war, Secretary
General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in Warsaw,
Poland:
“We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that
and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it
because this is something that should not happen. China should not support
Russia’s illegal war.”
Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount
to providing “(direct) support to a blatant violation of international law, and
of course (as) a member of the U.N. security council China should not in any
way support violation of the U.N. charter, or international law.”
Government-backed scholars in China shrugged off
Washington’s warnings over Beijing’s relationship with Moscow as a reflection
of what they described as a polarizing and distorted U.S. view.
The Global Times quoted Zhang Hong, associate research
fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies
of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as saying the U.S. and its allies
have looked at the Russia-Ukraine conflict through “colored glasses.”
“It seems like anyone who talks with Russia will be seen as
siding with Moscow in Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the English-language Chinese
newspaper quoted Zhang as saying.
Wang’s talks with Lavrov followed his
meeting Tuesday with Nikolai Patrushev, the powerful secretary of Russia’s
National Security Council, who called for closer cooperation with Beijing to
counter what he described as Western efforts to maintain dominance by thwarting
an alliance between China and Russia.
While China recently has emphasized its close ties with
Moscow, it also has to tread carefully to avoid an escalation of tensions with
the West as it looks to stimulate its economy following the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“Isolation from the West is not something (Beijing) wants to
risk,” Yu Jie, senior research fellow for China in the Asia-Pacific program at
Chatham House, a British think tank, said in comments published Wednesday.
“President Xi and his colleagues have begun to realize that cooperation with
Russia comes with substantial limits to avoid undermining China’s own political
priorities and longer-term economic interests.”
Wang’s trip to Moscow took place against a backdrop of
grinding battles in Ukraine, with neither side appearing to gain momentum.
Ukraine’s presidential office said at least seven civilians were killed between
Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
During a speech at a patriotic concert, Putin on Wednesday
hailed Russia’s “heroic” troops and claimed Moscow’s forces were fighting for
the country’s “historic frontiers” to protect its “interests, people, culture,
language and territory.”
“When we stand together, we have no equals,” he shouted to
enthusiastic crowds at a Moscow sports arena.
The growing relationship between China and Russia is another
example of how the war could spread into perilous new terrain.
Another was Putin’s announcement Tuesday that Russia would
suspend its participation in the
New START Treaty, raising new concerns about the fate of the arms pact,
which was already on life support.
Last fall, Moscow decided to allow the resumption of U.S.
inspections of its nuclear sites but refused to hold a scheduled round of
consultations under the pact.
The lower house of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday quickly
endorsed Putin’s move to suspend the treaty, with officials and lawmakers
casting it as an 11th-hour warning to Washington.
Reflecting Beijing’s cautious stance, Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the treaty was key to peace and
stability and that China hopes “the two sides will properly resolve their
differences.”
___
Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this
report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-china-ties-54c4a6f1346371b6deab08dcea723aa0
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