The ancient admiration of Xi Jinping by Russia Y Vladimir Putin reinforced the desire of the Chinese president to strengthen ties with Moscow in the long term, despite his apparent estrangement from the Kremlin as he suffered defeats in his war against Ukraine.
The pro-Russian leanings of Xi are due in part to his family and his biography, explained the Wall Street Journal in a detailed chronicle of the relationship between the two authoritarian leaders.
Interestingly, Xi was born in 1953, the year that Mao Zedong launched a campaign to study the Soviet Union What model for China’s political, economic and military system.
Furthermore, Xi’s father, Xi Zhongxuna party revolutionary who fought alongside Mao, traveled to the Soviet Union in the late 1950s to study its heavy industry.
This deeply marked Xi’s youth and, according to historians, led him to feel a deep-seated admiration for the valuesthe history and the soviet culture.
Some even speak of acomplex of Russia of the Chinese leader. This would be so deep that the almost three decades of rupture between the Soviet Union and China due to ideological and other differences could not overcome him, and caused his admiration to be transferred to the Russian Federation Rising from the ashes of the USSR.
The formation of the Chinese dictator made him share with Putin a similar vision of the way to exercise power and restore the past glory of their countries.
After coming to power, Xi tried to change China’s leadership structure, aligning it more with the “Putin model”reducing the importance of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and winning a historic election for a third term.
“I have a personality similar to yours.”Xi told Putin during his first visit to Moscow in 2013. Not coincidentally, that was his first trip abroad as China’s president.
For his part, Putin commented that the two countries were forging a special relationship. Since then, both have developed a ritual to congratulate each other on birthdays.
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“Xi has been strengthening China’s relations with Russia to a large extent regardless of the Russian invasion,” he said. to the wsj yun sundirector of the China program at the stimson center, a Washington think tank. “It is quite possible that the relationship is getting closer and closer.”
Economic ties between China and Russia have been deepening ever since Moscow seized Crimea Ukraine in 2014. And they deepened after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, despite the fact that the Chinese leader publicly seeks to show distance from the Kremlin.
An example of this is that in recent weeks, Xi has instructed his government to forge stronger economic ties with Russiaas assured by Beijing political advisers to the Wall Street Journal.
The plan includes a increased Chinese imports of Russian oil, gas and agricultural productsplus joint energy partnerships in the Arctic and an older Chinese investment in infrastructure such as railways and ports, the advisers said.
Russia and China are also making more financial transactions in rubles and yuan, rather than euros or dollars, a move that helps insulate both from future sanctions and put the Chinese currency into greater circulation. In July, Russia became the third largest yuan payment market outside of China continental, according to Swift, the messaging system used by financial institutions to process international payments.
China’s partnership with Russia became a lifeline for Moscow, helping the Kremlin to limit the economic consequences of Western sanctions and maintain its war. It is also fostering a overall divisiondissuading many developing countries that depend on China for trade from taking sides in the conflict.
As the countries deepen their relationship, it is expected that Xi, 69, to visit Moscow next year, probably after the Chinese legislative sessions in March, as the Russian ambassador to Beijing, Igor Morgulov, recently told the press. The visit, if it occurs, will mark the 40th face to face meeting of both leaders.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the wsj that Beijing and Moscow “will continue to conduct exchanges at all levels.”
Nevertheless, Xiwhich continues to need Western technology and closer ties with other foreign powers, has tried to publicly moderate relations with Russia to avoid provoking a collective reaction from the West, according to foreign affairs analysts and Beijing government advisers consulted by the wsj.
“Crap”
Even so, Xi Jinping never lacked his support for Russia. A strong signal of his desire to deepen the ties came shortly after he donald trump became president of the United States in early 2017. Trump’s election promise to improve relations with Russia caused alarm on Chinese Communist Party.
A report prepared by the prestigious Tsinghua UniversityXi’s alma mater, said the Russian economy had no future, meaning China would gain little from a closer relationship, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Crap”Xi wrote in the margins of the report, according to these people, quoted by the wsj.
When, shortly after, the trade war Come in USA Y ChinaXi turned to Russia for replacements.
Since then, trade between China and Russia has increased considerably to reach 146.9 billion dollars last year, compared to 95.3 billion in 2014, according to data from Chinese customs. This year, both officials and analysts expect it to reach a record $200 billion.
The raw it accounts for half of Russia’s total imports from China, and Russia is increasingly dependent on its southern neighbor for electronics such as radio broadcasting equipment and computers.
through the yearsBeijing has also positioned itself as a partner in the development of oil projects Y natural gas in the arctic zone of Russia.
Relationship “without limits”
At the end of 2021, Western pressure over Chinese human rights violations and the possible boycott of the Winter Olympics led to Xi to make a bold statement on China’s relations with Russiadeclaring that the association “had no limits.”
People close to Beijing’s decision-makers told the wsjthe intention of the Chinese leader was to send a message that the both countries were determined to confront what they perceived to be growing US threats.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Beijing ruled out that possibility as unlikely despite intelligence reports to the contrary.
Finally, the Russian invasion so soon after the February meeting forced Beijing to walk a delicate diplomatic line. On the one hand China has not directly condemned the Russian invasion. But on the other, he continues to avoid providing arms or other overt support for the Russian war effort, and Xi recently told other world leaders that opposes the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraineafter Putin threatened to do so.
Xi met Putin again in Uzbekistan in September on the sidelines of a regional summit where Beijing’s political advisers said the Chinese leader wanted to convey his anger over Russian aggression in Ukraine. By reaffirming his opposition to nuclear weapons, Xi also showed that he believes that he seeks to prevail in the bilateral relationship.leaving Russia in a subordinate placesaid political advisers and foreign affairs experts.
“It’s not suggesting that China is abandoning Russia, but it is suggesting that China considers snubbing Russia acceptable now,” said Sun, the Stimson Center expert. “China’s dominance in the relationship is growing.”
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Source-www.infobae.com