As Chinese Regime Strengthens Ties With Russia, New Cold War is Underway: Experts

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (L) at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Sergei Karpukhin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese leader Xi Jinping left Moscow on Wednesday morning, wrapping up a three-day trip that Beijing billed as a mission for peace.

Xi and President Vladimir Putin signed more than a dozen of agreements on Tuesday after what Xi described as “candid, friendly, and fruitful” talks in the Kremlin, cementing the “no limits” partnership the two leaders declared last February.

Putin praised Xi’s peace proposals, a 12-point blueprint released last month that was largely dismissed by the West as a ploy to buy Putin more time to regroup and solidify his hold on occupied territory.

Standing alongside the Russian President, Xi claimed the communist regime maintains an “impartial position” in the Ukraine war, presenting himself as a neutral broker to mediate an end to the conflict.

The reality, however, is that Xi has little interest in cooling down the conflict, experts say.

“Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia is aimed at cheering Russia up,” said Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese academic living in Australia.

Cheng Chin-mo, director of the Department of Diplomacy and International Relations at Tamkang University in Taiwan, believed the regime has provided support to Russia since the onset of the Ukraine war.

“The Chinese Communist Party has never been a neutral player from the very beginning [of the war], which the West has been very clear about it,” Cheng told The Epoch Times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 20, 2023. Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/ SPUTNIK / AFP via Getty Images

Song Guo-cheng, a researcher at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations in Taiwan, said the leader of the CCP sought to form a united front against the West, particularly the United States.

“With the Sino-Russia alliance, [the CCP] is trying to establish a camp, or a sphere of influence, to counter the West,” Song told The Epoch Times on March 23.

But the alliance has little to do with Moscow.

“In fact, the CCP, especially Xi Jinping, is using Putin as a tool to realize their hegemony over the world,” said Song.

“Putin is now isolated on the world stage and faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court,“ said Song. ”Therefore, [Xi] is looking to exploit Russia to counter the United States.”

At the same time, by playing the peacemaker, Xi could burnish the regime’s credentials as a great power.

Xi’s play at being peacemaker is intended to style the regime as responsible global leaders, Song said. If it convinced the world, the regime could have more “regional influence and a greater say in the global decision-making system,” he added.

On Wednesday, as Xi departed the Kremlin, he told Putin that a change was coming that “hasn’t happened in 100 years.”

“And it is we, together, who are driving these changes forward.”

The Russian leader replied, “I agree.”

“Please, take care, dear friend,” Putin said before shaking hands with his counterpart.

Economy

To realize his global ambition, Xi is in urgent need to revive the nation’s struggling economy, especially after the three-year pandemic, according to Cheng.

China’s economic growth fell to 3 percent last year, the second-weakest level since at least the 1970s, after three years of harsh COVID curbs and a sweeping crackdown on an array of homegrown tech giants along with real estate developers. Beijing set this year’s growth target of just “around 5 percent.”

Xi, who formally started his unprecedented third term as the Chinese leader in March, wants to revive the country’s shattered economy, which requires repairing ties with its major trading partner, the United States and the European Union.

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Yet the relationship between Beijing and Washington has plummeted to the lowest point in decades, especially after the recent Chinese spy balloon saga. “The U.S. approach to the CCP, in reality, has changed from ‘compete’ to ‘confront,’” Cheng said.

Therefore, the regime has turned its eyes to Europe.

“Another strategic target for the CCP was to split the United States and Europe, to woo Europe to support its economic development,” said Cheng.

But Cheng noted a major hurdle to repairing the ties between Beijing and Europe was the war in Ukraine.

As the West imposed costly sanctions on Russia, the regime repeatedly voiced its opposition to the sanctions and touted Xi’s “rock solid” partnership with Putin. On Tuesday, the second day of Xi’s state visit to Moscow, the CCP leader invited Putin and Russia’s prime minister Mikhail Mishustin to visit China and called for regular meetings between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Mishustin.

The Chinese regime has consistently refused to characterize Moscow’s actions as an invasion and has parroted Russian propaganda blaming Washington and NATO for instigating the conflict.

“With [the CCP’s] support for Russia, the attempts to fix the ties with Europe may yield no results,” he said. Instead, “it will push the United States and Europe to get closer to each other.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend the joint press conference following their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 21, 2023. Roman Pilipey/Getty Images

‘A New Cold War’

Song said Xi’s trip prompted the West to be “at high levels of vigilance” and also pushed them to be more united.

After landing in Moscow on Monday, Xi and Putin had a four-and-half-hour “informal” talk before enjoying a state dinner, during which the two leaders called each other a “dear friend.”

Hours later, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved additional military assistance to Ukraine worth $350 million, supporting it to fend off Russian attacks. The latest package, the 34th drawdown of the inventory, includes “more ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS and howitzers.” The move brings the total amount of military aid the Biden administration has given to Ukraine to over $32.5 billion since February 2022.

On Tuesday, Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit to Kyiv, where he met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Such moves signal the West won’t seek a compromise with Russia, according to Song.

“The Western world is determined to win the Russia-Ukraine war, and it will not make any compromises or concessions in peace negotiations,” said Song.

“From another perspective, [Xi’s trip] pushed the West to come closer,” said Song.

“The two parallel worlds have emerged.”

Cheng agreed.

“The two camps—the liberal democracy and autocratic dictatorship—have gradually formed,” said Cheng.

“Then, If the CCP steps up its support to Russia … we may see the start of a new cold war.”

Luo Ya and Fran Fang contributed to this report.