Hong Kong: Instead of calling Russia to halt its military invasion of Ukraine, China is supporting its ally as fully as it can without triggering Western sanctions. The farewell hug between the autocratic leaders of the respective nations – Chairman Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin – made a mockery of China’s profession of being a neutral party.
In his first overseas trip after commencing his fifth term in power, Putin visited China on 16-17 May. The occasion marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and a 7,000-word joint statement enthused that “Russian- Chinese relations stand the test of rapid changes in the world, demonstrating strength and stability, and are experiencing the best period in their history”. Beijing previously declared a “no-limits strategic partnership” with Moscow, and the state visit reinforced the closeness between the two regimes.
Instead of urging an end to the war, Xi embraced the Russian strongman and issued assurances of undying support. The joint statement noted the nations would “further deepen mutual military trust and cooperation”. This includes expansion of military exercises, regular maritime and air patrols, and strengthening bilateral and multilateral coordination.
Cooperation will occur in security-related fields such as deep-space exploration, satellite navigation systems, open-source technologies, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, radio frequency coordination, Internet of Things, cyber and data security.
