Chinese Communist Party Secretary-General Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, just days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted the Russian ruler on war crimes charges.
Xi’s visit is the latest sign of Beijing’s emboldened diplomatic ambitions, and it comes amid rising East-West tensions over the war in Ukraine, which is now in its 13th month. According to an intelligence official, Xi recently achieved a diplomatic victory by bypassing the US and brokering rapprochement between the Iranian regime and Saudi Arabia.
Rebekah Koffler, a former US defense intelligence analyst, told Fox News Digital that Xi’s meeting with Putin was “highly significant” because “Xi has a strong incentive to prolong Putin’s war on Ukraine because China only… benefited as both top strategic adversaries exhausted their combat arsenals in Ukraine in a proxy war.”
Koffler added, “Therefore, Xi is likely to authorize lethal aid to Russia. But they are likely discussing how that third-party assistance can be ported over to allow China to circumvent US sanctions policies.”
CHINA ILLUMINATES HIDDEN MOTIVES AFTER MEDIATION TALKS BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN
Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin speak during their meeting in Beijing February 4, 2022. The two will meet again on Monday, when Xi begins a two-day visit to Moscow. (Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Asked about the Xi-Putin meeting and a possible Xi call with President Joe Biden, John Kirby, director of strategic communications for the National Security Council, told Fox News on Sunday that “the president wants to keep lines of communication open with China, and you did. I only heard him say himself in the last few days that he would like to create another opportunity to speak to President Xi, and I suspect that will happen; it will happen in due course, when the time is right.” He continued, “Especially when tensions between our two countries are so high, it’s important that these two leaders keep that line of communication open, and the President has committed to it.”
Kirby added: “There is no question that both China and Russia, and it is in the national security strategy, are two countries that are reluctant to accept this international, rules-based order that the United States and so many of our allies have embraced and partners have been building since the end of World War II. They don’t like it, they would like to rewrite the rules of the game worldwide, and they’ve certainly increased their collaboration and relationship lately.
Fox News Digital sent a press inquiry to the US State Department over criticism of Washington’s failure to enforce sanctions on China and its alleged hesitation to counter Beijing’s aggressive foreign policy aimed at thwarting American interests, but no response was received as of press time.
JOHN BOLTON WARNS US TO ‘SIT STILL’ WHILE CHINA AND RUSSIA ‘SUPPORT HIS LINKS’
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, right, shakes hands with Saudi National Security Advisor Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban, left, as Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, looks on in Beijing March 11, 2023. (Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua via AP)
Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital that Xi is aiming to gain more traction and influence this month through his diplomatic successes with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Beijing and Moscow have deepened ties in steps that began just before Russia invaded Ukraine with a meeting between the two leaders in Beijing during last year’s Winter Olympics, where they declared a partnership without borders.
China has tried to present itself as neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, even as it has refused to condemn Moscow’s aggression. Beijing has denounced Western sanctions against Moscow and accused NATO and the US of provoking Putin’s military action.
Kremlin spokesman Yuri Ushakov noted that Putin and Xi are having “very special, friendly and trusting personal times” and welcomed Beijing’s peace plan.
“We appreciate the Chinese leadership’s cautious, balanced position on this issue,” Ushakov said.
China last month called for a ceasefire and peace talks between Kiev and Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautiously welcomed Beijing’s commitment, but the overture seemed to go no further.
Yurii Poita, head of the Asia section of the Kiev-based New Geopolitics Research Network, believes the Ukrainian government supports China’s involvement because it is reluctant to make another powerful enemy.
BIDEN WAITED AS RUSSIA, CHINA FLEXES MID-EAST MUSCLE: ‘ALLIES IMPORTANT’
A Ukrainian tank shells Russian positions near Bakhmut, Ukraine, March 8, 2023. (AP Photo / Evgeniy Maloletka)
“Don’t devote yourself to the dragon when you’re fighting a bear,” Poita told the Associated Press.
Observers say that despite China’s role as a mediator in settling the Ukraine-Russia war, its refusal to condemn the Russian action leaves no doubt as to where Beijing’s sympathies lie.
All of this helps explain why harsh China critics like Chang don’t see China as an honest power broker.
Chang, the author of The Coming Collapse of China, noted that “without China’s support, Russia may not enter this war. China is effectively funding the war with increased commodity purchases. China has opened its financial system to Russian-sanctioned institutions China provided location data to Russians [forces] take out Ukrainian drones. China sells ammunition to Russians.”
Last week it was reported that Chinese companies were sending assault rifles, drone parts and body armor to Russia.
ACTIVISTS TURN TO INVESTIGATE CLAIMS CHINA HARVESTS TWENTY ORGANS OF UIGUR PEOPLE
“The Biden administration wants [China’s] Help with climate change and does not call on China and do not impose sanctions on the Chinese. The Biden administration is afraid of a confrontation with the Chinese. China sees the green light to support its ‘no-limits’ partner Russia,” Chang said.
Referring to Monday’s meeting, Chang continued, “This is China’s all-out support for the genocide.” China’s human rights record has been heavily criticized over the years for its violent crackdown on Uyghurs and Tibetans.
The China expert went on to say that Putin and Xi must have known about the ICC arrest warrant issued against Putin, and Xi nevertheless went ahead and “announced the visit just before the international arrest warrant. This meeting is a signal that China supports Russia through thick and thin.”
President Joe Biden (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit November 14, 2022 in Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Koffler, who is an expert on Putin, didn’t mince his words: “Biden’s policies have effectively created a monster – Russia, China, Iran, Syria, North Korea – and they’re all trying to change the world and rearrange the balance of power. And Putin and Xi are leading that transformation.” She added that Biden is “single-handedly dismantling the future US strategic position in the world.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source : www.foxnews.com