BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow, providing a political boost to the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
The Chinese government provided no details about what Xi hoped to accomplish. Prior to the February 2022 attack on Ukraine, Xi and Putin declared a "no-limits friendship," but China has attempted to portray itself as neutral. Last month, Beijing called for a cease-fire, but Washington said that would ratify the Kremlin's battlefield gains.
The Chinese government said Xi would visit Moscow from Monday to Wednesday but did not say when he would leave. The Russian government stated that Xi would arrive at midday and meet with Putin later.
For its energy-hungry economy, China looks to Russia as a supplier of oil and gas as well as a partner in opposition to what both countries perceive as American hegemony over the world. The meeting gives Putin and Xi a chance to show they have "powerful partners" at a time of strained relations with Washington. Beijing's relationships with the United States, Europe, and its neighbors are strained by disagreements over technology, security, and human rights, as well as how the Communist Party in power treats minorities in Muslim-majority Hong Kong. Some commentators have suggested that there may be some similarities between Beijing's claim to Taiwan and Russia's claim to the territory of Ukraine. By flying fighter jets close by and firing missiles into the water, the government of Xi has stepped up its efforts to intimidate the island.
The Nationalist Party's Ma Ying-jeou will visit China next week in an apparent effort to sway public opinion ahead of next year's presidential election in Taiwan.
Ma presided over a period of cordial relations with Beijing, but he was forced from office after a trade agreement was rejected by the Chinese legislature amid the biggest anti-government demonstrations since the 1990s.
Chinese businesses have come under fire overseas as a result of China's campaign of diplomatic isolation and military threats, and support for Taiwan is rising in the European Parliament and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Bob Stewart, the head of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group, arrived in Taipei on Sunday, the most recent in a series of delegations. Members of Congress Rob Butler, Sarah Atherton, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Afzal Khan, and Marie Rimmer are also included in the delegation.
China has increased its purchases of Russian oil and gas, joining India and other nations that assert their neutrality in the Ukraine conflict in doing so. This has helped the Kremlin supplement its income in the face of Western sanctions.
Beijing seems to have mostly heeded American warnings not to provide military support.
The meeting this week comes in response to the ICC's charge that Putin is personally accountable for the kidnapping of thousands of children from Ukraine. Governments that agree that the court has jurisdiction must detain Putin if he shows up.
The Kremlin deemed the announcement to be "outrageous and unacceptable," though Putin has not yet responded to it.
Putin visited Crimea and the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol over the weekend in a show of defiance to commemorate the ninth anniversary of Russia annexing the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. He was seen interacting with Mariupol residents, as well as visiting an art school and a children's center in Sevastopol, Crimea, according to Russian news reports.
Xi claimed that China has "actively promoted peace talks" but has not yet made any announcements in an article that appeared in the Russian newspaper Russian Gazette on Monday.
According to a text made public by the official Xinhua News Agency, Xi wrote that his upcoming trip to Russia would be one of friendship, cooperation, and peace.
If "all parties embrace the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security," Xi wrote, "a reasonable way to resolve the crisis" can be found.
Xi's administration scored a diplomatic coup when, as a result of a meeting in Beijing, a diplomatic thaw between Iran and Saudi Arabia was unexpectedly announced.
According to Torigian, Xi wants to be viewed as a world leader who is "playing a constructive role" by advocating for peace but is not likely to put pressure on Putin to end the conflict.
Despite not wanting to appear to be "enabling Russia's aggression," Beijing is concerned about "potential Russian losses on the battlefield," according to Torigian.
They won't spend political capital, he said, "especially if they don't think it will get them anything," on pressuring Moscow to make peace.