War in Ukraine: China and Russia should (further) strengthen their cooperation


Sébastien Le Belzic (correspondent in Beijing), edited by Gauthier Delomez with AFP

After his visit to Paris and this weekend in Munich for the security conference, the head of Chinese diplomacy Wang Yi is on his way to Russia, where he will discuss the war in Ukraine. A year after the start of the conflict, China remains Russia’s best ally and the two countries should strengthen their cooperation.

Wang Yi is already preparing for the announced but not yet confirmed visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia. The head of Chinese diplomacy is on his way to Moscow where he will obviously discuss the war in Ukraine, after his visit to Paris and this weekend in Munich for the Security Conference where he met the American Secretary of State . In fact, a year after the start of the conflict, China remains Russia’s best ally and the two countries are yet to announce the strengthening of their cooperation.

Indeed, the Sino-Russian front has not failed and has even been strengthened. China has increased its imports of Russian gas and oil by more than 50% since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Safeguard the legitimate interests of both parties”

For China, the partnership with Moscow has become a priority. “Wang Yi will have an in-depth exchange with the Russian side on the development of China-Russia relations and international hotspots,” said Wang Wenbin of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “China wants to take advantage of this visit to work with Russia to promote bilateral relations in the direction set by the two heads of state, to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of both parties,” he then explained.

Officially, Beijing pleads for a diplomatic solution to put an end to the war in Ukraine and accuses the West of blowing on the embers by supplying arms to kyiv. But the United States accuses Beijing of doing exactly the same thing by circumventing international sanctions against Russia, even going so far as to supply it with weapons.

China plans to send ‘weapons’ to Russia, Blinken warns

Beijing plans to supply “weapons” to Russia to support its offensive in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Sunday after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. “We talked about the Russian-led war and the concerns we have that China is planning to provide lethal support to Russia,” he said on CBS. Asked what this would imply concretely, the head of American diplomacy replied: “Mainly weapons”.



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