🇺🇸 A Curious Courtship

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

A Curious Courtship

Earlier this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first official visit to Moscow since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. While there, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new economic deal between the two countries.

Reporting from the Right: Xi Flaunts China’s ‘Deepening’ Bond With Russia During Talks With Putin (Daily Wire)

Reporting from the Left: Putin and Xi pose as peacemakers while Moscow's war in Ukraine rages on (CNN)

From the Flag: The three-day visit highlights the Russia-China partnership as well as President Xi’s attempts to advance China’s global influence. Xi also offered to serve as a peace negotiator between Russia and Ukraine, which Putin said he respected. Here’s the latest from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Xi’s Plans for Peace are Dubious, and the West Should Be Wary

• Despite President Xi arriving in Moscow with a message of peace, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to negotiate an end to the war.

• This is a concerning visit for the US and its allies because China may provide Russia with weapons if Ukraine rejects a peace deal.

• A more principled leader than Xi would have called off his meeting to Moscow after the ICC indicted Putin for alleged war crimes.

“The Real Meaning of Xi's Visit to Putin” Gideon Rachman, Financial Times Opinion: “Echoing Mao, Xi often claims that: ‘The east is rising and the west is declining.’ Xi, like Mao and Putin, also believes that Russia and China share an interest in accelerating the decline of western power. … President Xi… has also recently put forward a 12-point peace plan to settle the war in Ukraine. … After his summit with Vladimir Putin, the Chinese leader is likely to call President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Zelenskyy will doubtless take that call. Xi has enormous leverage over Putin; should he choose to use it. But Zelenskyy and the western coalition backing Ukraine will also be appropriately skeptical about China’s peace proposals. The reality is that Xi is very unlikely to be either willing or able to broker an end to the Ukraine war.”

“Xi’s visit to Putin should worry the West” David Ignatius, Washington Post Opinion: “A strong China is bolstering a weak Russia. That’s the real headline that describes the showy meetings in Moscow this week between the two countries’ leaders. The Chinese aren’t providing weapons (yet), but Xi certainly offered moral and psychological support in what might be described as a get-well visit to an ailing relative. White House spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday rightly called Putin a ‘junior partner.’ The paradox of the Ukraine war is that Putin’s bid for greater power in Europe has made him weaker. … Maybe that’s the biggest reason for Xi’s fraternal visit: He is bolstering a flank against America and the West. … By playing the peacemaker, Xi can position himself better to take other, harsher rescue measures if Ukraine rejects a cease-fire. He could offer ammunition for Russia, arguing he’s only leveling the playing field.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: How Xi Jinping plans to use his meeting with war crimes suspect Vladimir Putin Observer Editorial Staff, The Guardian

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Russia’s Pain Is China’s Gain, but Why Is the West Silent?

• It’s beyond time for President Biden and the European Union to formally rebuke the Russia-China partnership.

• If Russia loses in Ukraine it will be even more reliant on China, and willing to advance its interests.

• This partnership speaks to an increasingly desperate Putin and an opportunistic regime in Beijing.

“Biden should demand Europe challenge Xi-Putin love affair” Editorial Staff, Washington Examiner: “(With this visit) President Xi Jinping of China underlined his confidence that he can retain his European political and economic cake while covering for Moscow, even as it eats Europe's democratic sovereignty, too. … Nice. Just not for the democratic world. It's well past time that President Joe Biden call out European Union leaders for their tolerance of this absurdity. As Xi and Putin gang up to smash Europe's peace and global democratic security, EU leaders continue to make China policy only through the prism of trade. … As Putin wages the most destructive war in Europe since 1945, it is absurd for Western European governments to treat Xi as merely an awkward friend. Xi's political cover for Putin's war and broader support for Russian strategic interests have made him an enemy of territorial inviolability and the right of European peoples to pursue their own destinies.”

“Putin-Xi summit should be a wakeup call on worldwide threats facing America” John Bolton, New York Post Op-ed: “Beijing’s Western sympathizers, during the nearly 13 months of Moscow’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, have repeatedly contorted themselves to explain that China was embarrassed by Russia’s conduct… These assertions were palpably untrue even when the apologists were making their apologia and now stand fully exposed. Today, it is (they) who should be embarrassed. In reality, China is the Ukraine war’s biggest winner no matter how it ends. … And if Moscow is defeated, Beijing’s ally will be even more heavily reliant on China and thus even more in its thrall. It is hard to describe a range of scenarios more to Xi’s liking. Unfortunately, Ukraine and the rest of the former Russian empire will not be the only targets of this new Eurasian Axis.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: The reality behind bromance between Russia's Putin and China's Xi James Jay Carafano, Fox News Opinion

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A Show of Support, Putin’s Reign, Not Getting Likes

During their meeting, President Xi predicted Russian voters would continue to give President Putin “their firm support” during the 2024 election.

Changes made to the constitution of Russia in 2020 enable Putin to potentially stay in power up to 2036. Some have criticized the country’s elections and say they aren’t “free and fair” at present.

Meanwhile, both Xi and Putin do not fare well in favorability ratings among Westerners. Seven in 10 respondents say they’ve heard of President Xi, but 38% “dislike” him. Putin is known to 93% of those surveyed, and disliked by 64% (YouGov).

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