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Since he arrived at the White House, Joe Biden made it clear that the main rivals of United States they were China and Russia, and based on this he is reconfiguring his country’s foreign policy. But during his first year, it was undoubtedly China that garnered Washington’s attention, reinforcing his presence in the Indo-Pacific.
But already in 2022, and with the war in Ukraine serving a month, Russia has become the main concern of Western countries, with the United States in the lead. This, however, does not imply that China has been left to one side. On the contrary, its role in the conflict is key to knowing what the fate of international politics will be in the coming years.
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China It has given neither its support nor its disapproval to the Russian invasion, which is why it is being pressured to speak out about it, especially since the West is concerned that Beijing will provide military or economic aid to Vladimir Putin. This was evidenced this Thursday, during the long-awaited summit in Brussels of NATO leaders, which was attended by Biden.
“We call on all states, including the People’s Republic of China, to uphold the international order, including the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, to refrain from support Russia’s war effort in any way, and to refrain from any action that helps Russia circumvent sanctions.”the leaders said in a document.
The Asian giant always plays for himself, but there is no doubt that he has been put in a difficult situation.
“The Chinese government tries to remain neutral, insists that it is the main trading partner for Ukraine and Russia, that is why they try, at least on the surface, not to position themselves in any way or in favor of one or the other”Benjamin Creutzfeldt, a researcher at the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at the University of the Pacific, tells this newspaper.
So far, Beijing does not use the word “invasion” and has declared itself willing to mediate in collaboration with the international community.
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But chinese government nor has he hesitated to react when NATO has accused them of “spreading lies” about the intervention to Ukraine and for providing “political support” to Russia.
“United States and the NATO must talk with Russia to unravel the knot of the Ukrainian crisis. To resolve a crisis, we must be calm and rational, not add fuel to the fire”Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, responded at a press conference on Thursday. “We have always advocated that Ukraine be a bridge between East and West, and not the vanguard of a game of great powers,” added the Chinese official.
“China It reacts very badly to the threat and pressure from the West, even more so because it seems hypocritical to them. The Chinese people, and their government, think that the United States is never innocent, neither in this war nor in the previous ones. So they have very little respect for pressure and threats from the West.” Creutzfeldt adds.
For the German analyst, China is seeking, behind the stage, to be a kind of mediator in the crisis and could even already be working on a ceasefire.
Xi and Putin, a convenient relationship
At the beginning of February, when the Russian military was already deployed on the border, but the Kremlin he denied in all the languages that he would invade UkrainePresident Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinpingat the opening of the Winter Olympics.
The summit showed the world the strength of their relations. Thus, the communiqués of both countries showed grandiloquence and described the links between Moscow and Beijing as “solid as a rock”, “unbreakable” and “without limits”.
Much was speculated about that meeting and what was said, especially if Putin advanced his military strategy to Xi or simply promised him that China would not be affected. However, a month after the war, Beijing or Moscow have not repeated those qualifiers.
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“I would say that the relationship is now tense between Xi and Putin, even a estrangement is speculated, but China knows that it has a long border with Russia and it cannot just go around it. However, it is not that both have had a close relationship, it is about opportunism, “ Creutzfeldt points out.
The reality is that Russian troops are now stuck in Ukraine, while economic sanctions increase, affecting the global economy.
“The Chinese population openly talks about war on the news -and they are not censored- and they are dismayed by that, because it also affects them because the price of gasoline has already risen”Creutzfeldt points out.
China, meanwhile, tries to juggle and see its convenience, especially since it could take advantage of Russia’s isolation from Western powers.
“Russia will have no choice but to sell China its most sensitive military technology, and offer its raw materials cheap, in yuan. China will be able to set the price. Before the war, Moscow had other options, but those options have now disappeared.”points out to “El País” Alexander Gabuev, analyst of Sino-Russian relations at the Carnegie Center in Moscow.
Likewise, the war in Ukraine is a perfect distraction since the United States and the rest of the Western powers will no longer have Chinafor now, as its main geopolitical objective.
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Source: Elcomercio
