A Real Sensation
35- 7.07.2025, 19:14
- 57,468
Why you have to talk to China from a position of strength.
The statement by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China cannot allow Russia to be defeated because then the United States will focus on Beijing has become a real sensation
Although, in fact, this is exactly the position China has held since the first day of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The main thing is not the position itself, but why they decided to make it public, even if unofficially. There is no doubt that we are dealing with a signal and not an accidental leak: news of Wang Yi's statement appeared in the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong publication that Beijing traditionally uses to convey indirect messages.
Si Jinping has already realized that there will be no good relations with Donald Trump. At the same time, Trump proved incapable of realizing economic pressure on Beijing - this became evident after the de facto rejection of tariff threats. China has concluded that the West needs their economy more than China needs the West. So now Beijing believes it can dictate terms.
But that's not all that's interesting. China is backing Russia - but not for the purpose of destroying Ukraine. Putin's goal is the complete liquidation of Ukrainian statehood and the annexation of its territories to the Russian Federation. China does not share such a goal. It is important for Beijing to preserve Ukraine as a state - but in good relations with Russia. Without this, there will be no Chinese investments, no opportunities to control local authorities and elite.
China is not interested in the Russian language or the Russian church. It is interested in the manageability of the Ukrainian leadership and its orientation toward Beijing as a guarantor of maintaining power and financial flows - the way it works with Lukashenko.
Putin wants to end the war only after annexing new territories. China is ready to end the war at least when Kiev and Moscow reach an agreement on coexistence. And this is what shows the different interests of Beijing and the Kremlin.
But at the same time, the Chinese leadership must realize that the post-Soviet space is changing. There are fewer and fewer countries willing to maintain special relations with Moscow - but almost all of them seek good relations with China. And Beijing will eventually be forced to reconsider its policy and stop treating the former Soviet republics as states with limited sovereignty.
Ukraine should realize that China should be spoken to in the same way as Russia. Only the language of force is understood there. Any attempts at compromise are perceived only as a manifestation of weakness. It is impossible to come to an agreement with a state that considers the collapse of your independence as a condition for its own economic prosperity.
That is why Ukraine should press Beijing together with the West to reduce the level of its economic cooperation with Moscow. And - at the same time - deepen ties with Taiwan. In the event of war in the Taiwan Strait, Ukraine should be on the side of those resisting the aggressor. The position of an ally - even an informal one - could change Chinese calculations regarding Putin's support.
But if we simply hope to convince the Chinese leadership of our benevolence and make money from Chinese money, we will fail.
Vitaly Portnikov, Facebook
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