The Ukraine Crisis: Xi Restates Close Ties To Putin in Phone Call

"Chinese President Xi Jinping re-emphasized support for Moscow's security concerns in his second phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin since sanctions on Russia nearly four months ago, showing little sign of backing off from an entente that has alienated Beijing further from the West.

The conversation took place on Mr. Xi's 69th birthday, a sign of both leaders' desire to reinforce a personal friendship that has helped take the China-Russia relationship to the closest point since the early years of the Cold War.

According to China's Foreign Ministry, Mr. Xi said during the call, "China is willing to continue mutual support with Russia on issues related to core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security."

The Kremlin, meanwhile, said the Chinese leader "noted the legitimacy of the actions taken by Russia to protect the fundamental national interests in the face of challenges to its security created by external forces."

While the two countries' representation of the phone call diverged, their readouts nonetheless demonstrated that China has little intention of dialing back its political alignment with Russia, even though it has damaged Beijing's relations with the U.S.-led West and undermined its efforts to uphold itself as a responsible world power.

A shared interest with Mr. Putin in confronting Washington has driven Mr. Xi to keep Russia as China's most important strategic collaborator even if it isn't an outright ally.

In internal meetings over the past year, Chinese officials and foreign-policy advisers said, Mr. Xi has emphasized the U.S. as the biggest threat to China's interests." [1]

This is the main mistake of the West in the crisis - to push Moscow into close collaboration with Mr. Xi. Somebody in power in the West thinks that we will manage to destroy this collaboration later. What if we will not be able to destroy it?

1. The Ukraine Crisis: Xi Restates Close Ties To Putin in Phone Call
Sha Hua. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 16 June 2022: A.8.