Beijing supports Moscow in the war, but it is not an equal relationship, the Pentagon says, pointing to China’s limited support for Russia.
In its latest report, the Pentagon noted China’s political, diplomatic and military “limited support” for Russia in light of its military invasion of Ukraine.
“Beijing’s relations with Moscow are characterized by strategic distrust. It is not a relationship of equals,” US Defense Department analysts said.
‘Russian decision surprised China’
“Russia’s decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine took China by surprise. Against this backdrop, Beijing sought to maintain close ties with Moscow while promoting its own image as a responsible great power and neutrality,” the Pentagon statement read.
In the context of providing economic and military assistance to Russia, China had to “balance its strategic partnership with Russia while avoiding reputational and economic costs.”
Has China struck a blow to Russia?
The visit of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to China and his second talks with Xi Jinping this year again ended without a major decision that the Kremlin had been waiting for years. Although Putin called Xi a “dear friend,” praised Beijing for the success of the Belt and Road project and declared “great prospects” for bilateral ties, Chinese officials did not sign a contract for additional supplies of Russian gas and construction of the Power of the Siberia 2 pipeline.
The project, which Moscow has been promoting for more than seven years, would be the subject of negotiations, Kremlin press spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. And although Putin took an impressive delegation to China, including Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, responsible for energy, Gazprom President Alexei Miller and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, he failed to convince Xi Jinping. In their joint statement, the politicians wrote only about expanding Russian-Chinese cooperation in the energy sector.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
