HONG KONG — Angered by the United States’ insistence on halting its rise to global superpower status, China continues to push for a new international order with Beijing at its core.
China has been speaking out more strongly about the possibility of conflict if the U.S. does not change its course in recent weeks and celebrated a major diplomatic win in the Middle East. On Monday, its leader, Xi Jinping will travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. This signals Beijing’s increasing acceptance of its growing power and the potential for it further to deepen its conflict with the U.S.
Xi’s first visit to Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine in February could be a greater gesture of solidarity. On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the Russian leader, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine. The court is not a member of Russia, China, or the United States.
According to a Sunday article in People’s Daily (the flagship newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party), Putin stated that he was looking forward to the visit of his “good friend” Xi. Xi had declared a “no limit” partnership with him just weeks before the invasion. Over the weekend, the Russian leader paid a brave visit to the occupied eastern Ukraine and welcomed China’s willingness “meaningful contribution” to solving the conflict.
Xi continued Monday’s article promoting China’s peace plan to Ukraine. Xi said it “reflects the broadest shared understanding of the international community about the crisis.” However, the West dismissed the 12-point proposal as too favorable for Russia.
Xi stated that his Russia trip was meant to strengthen the strategic partnership between Russia and China in a world facing “damaging acts by hegemony or domination and bullying.”
According to an English translation by Chinese state media, he stated that “The international community has acknowledged that no country is superior over others, no model or governance is universal and no one country should dictate international order.”
Xi and his top officers are rehearsing their rhetoric as the U.S.-China relationship seems to be in a downward spiral. Xi spoke this month to delegates attending the annual meeting China’s ceremonial legislature. He was formally elected a third term as president.
Qin Gang China’s new foreign minister, Qin Gang later echoed Xi’s comments, warning that “confrontation” and conflict between the two world’s largest economies is inevitable unless Washington changes its policies.
Ian Bremmer, president and CEO of Eurasia Group, a New York-based consulting firm, said that Xi’s comments were among the most direct and strong anti-U.S. comments by any Chinese leader in decades. He said that Xi was expressing dissatisfaction at Washington by making these comments.
Although President Joe Biden has a personal relation to Xi, and has emphasized the potential of bilateral cooperation in this area, the manner U.S. politicians speak about China issues — from Taiwan trade to TikTok – gives Beijing the impression that “everything” is antagonistic. Bremmer stated.
He said, “They believe this is deeper than any that can be fixed by the leaders talking.”
According to the Biden administration, China is a strategic rival and it doesn’t seek conflict. Biden has spoken to Xi several times via phone and met in November with him last week. He said that he expects to call Xi “soon.”
Xi continues to engage in diplomatic activity, aiming to offer a Chinese alternative for the U.S.-led international order. This includes a focus on “mutual respect” as well as “noninterference”, and avoiding the Western framework of autocracies versus democracies. With the unexpected announcement of a deal to restore relations between Saudi Arabian and Iranian for the first time since 2007, Xi’s ambitions to make China a responsible great force were furthered.
“It’s a low-risk, high-reward step that boosts Chinese legitimacy and reputation and Xi Jinping in special as someone who, according to Chinese source, facilitated this deal,” Tuvia Gering, a researcher at the Diane and Guilford Glazer Israel and China Policy Center at Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv, said.
Fan Hongda, a professor in the Middle East Studies Institute at Shanghai International Studies University said that he did not believe the deal would change the global order.
He said, “But to some extent, this is indeed testament to the rising influence China.” “The United States will likely take China more seriously,” he said.
Xi’s regular contact with Putin, highlighted by his state trip this week, contrasts his relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zilenskyy with whom he has not spoken since before the war. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has not confirmed that Xi might have a virtual meeting after his visit to Moscow.
China has attempted to present itself as neutral in the conflict. It refrains from condemning Russia’s aggression, but calls for negotiations and is careful to avoid violating international sanction. It denied claims from Washington it was considering providing Moscow lethal military aid, arguing that the U.S. along with its allies are fueling conflict by sending weapons to Ukraine.
“China has so far had the luxury to be able to watch the war and see who wins,” stated Keir Giles (a senior consultant fellow in the Russia, Eurasia program at Chatham House in London), a think tank.
Xi’s Russia trip could lead to a variety of outcomes, he stated, including definitive moves in either one direction, such as offering Putin support or calling for an end to the conflict.
Giles stated that both would indicate that China has made a decision about how war will affect balance of power between Russia, the West and China in the long-term. “It is possible that neither of these will occur, and we’ll continue hearing words of partnership without visible action.”
