On Wednesday, March 22nd, Chinese president Xi Jinping concluded his much-anticipated, three-day state visit to Moscow—his first overseas trip of 2023, coming on the heels of his second re-election as head of state. He did so in a manner that did not go unnoticed in the West, nor indeed, the world.
As they traded parting remarks, the Chinese leader shook hands with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, telling him: “Right now, we are seeing a change we have not seen in 100 years, and we are driving this change together,” a statement Putin said he agreed with. In turn, Xi responded: “Please take care, dear friend.”
The exchange, while exuding the bonhomie of the two leaders, has invited speculation, as it is unclear what “change” Xi was exactly referring to.
It is however broadly taken to mean a new world order, spearheaded by Russia and China, which would move away from the model of western liberalism under the auspices of the U.S., and come to resemble a more “just” multipolar arrangement. This proposed vision, so both hope, would win the global South’s support, persuading it—through various initiatives—to join in such a venture.
Indeed, ahead of his state visit, Xi had written an article where he said this process was already underway, as he explained that the international community had
recognized that no country is superior to others, no model of governance is universal, and no single country [an implicit reference to the U.S.] should dictate the international order. The common interest of all humankind is in a world that is united and peaceful, rather than divided and volatile.
While the two countries deny having formed a “military-political alliance,” Western analysts fear Russia and China have entered into something akin to it. Although evidence for it is lacking, concerns in the West are growing that China might eventually provide military support for the Russian war effort.
However one chooses to describe it, the pomp on display as Xi and Putin met seemed to indicate a desire to show the world the Russian-Chinese bond is stronger than it has ever been.
Following a four-and-a-half-hour private talk at the Kremlin, Xi and Putin jointly met the press, where they laid out the two nations’ framework, which fully reflects the “special nature of Russian-Chinese relations, which are at the highest level in all our history, offering a model of a genuine comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.”
Much was made of their priority—trade and economic cooperation—as China had “solidly established itself as the leading foreign trade partner” for Russia, which, following western-imposed sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine, pivoted to other partners for its energy exports, according to Putin.
Last year, he continued, bilateral trade increased by 30% (in a January report, the Chinese noted a 34.3% increase) to set a new record of $185 billion. This year, the Russian leader predicted, trade might exceed $200 billion, a symbolic threshold.
Economic cooperation would also deepen “in eight strategic areas, primarily finance, industrial manufacturing and technology, as well as transport and logistics.”
While not central to their meeting, Xi and Putin discussed the war in Ukraine, for which China had presented its peace plan a few weeks ago. Days before Xi’s visit, the International Criminal Court—whose authority is not recognized by either Russia, China, or the U.S.— issued an arrest warrant for President Putin on war crimes allegations.
On the “Ukrainian question,” the “objective” and “unbiased” position of the Chinese was stressed once more, as Russia and China reiterated their joint opposition “to any states and their blocs damaging the legitimate security interests of other states in order to obtain military, political and other advantages.”
Russia, lending credibility to China as a mediator (a role in which it is growing more comfortable following its recent success in brokering an agreement between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran), welcomed its “readiness to play a positive role in a political-diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and the constructive ideas” it had outlined in its peace plan.
Putin however expressed doubt about the “readiness” of the West and Kyiv to agree to it, as he had yet to see it. Having heard the news that the UK would be providing Ukraine with shells made with depleted uranium, Putin accused the West of deploying weapons with a “nuclear component” and said Russia would be “forced to react.”
The UK’s Ministry of Defence responded by saying that depleted uranium was a “standard component” which had “nothing to do with nuclear weapons.”
Shells with depleted uranium have been used by NATO troops in Iraq and the Balkans, and have been linked to birth defects.
A 2022 UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report has noted that “depleted uranium and toxic substances in common explosives” can cause skin irritation, kidney failure and increase the risks of cancer.”
Xi, concerned about the possible use of depleted uranium on Ukrainian battlefields, said Beijing was in favor of peace and dialogue and that China was on the “right side of history.”
As expected, his government’s 12-point peace initiative has been met with little enthusiasm in Kyiv and Washington, since it does not condemn Russia’s invasion and proposes a ceasefire that would allow Russia to retain the territories it has annexed.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that calling for a ceasefire before Russia withdrew “would effectively be supporting the ratification of Russian conquest,” and that the world “should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia supported by China, or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms.”
Ukraine has repeatedly said peace is off the table until Russia withdraws from the land Kyiv considers occupied. Moscow says Kyiv must recognise territorial “realities,” as the four areas making up Eastern Ukraine through referendums—deemed rigged by the collective West—had chosen to join the Russian Federation last September.
