Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan last week. However, the attitude was noticeably different from their triumphant meeting in Beijing which was weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.
There was no more touting of their “no-limits” friendship announced on the opening day of the Winter Olympics. Rather, Putin acknowledged that Beijing had “questions and concerns” about his faltering invasion.
Xi did not refer to the much-heralded “strategic partnership” between Beijing and Moscow. It was observed by Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing. Shi said that it was “the most prudent, or most low-key statement in years.”
This comes after Russia’s line of embarrassing defeats on the battlefield. Previously Putin exposed this weakness to his friends and enemies alike. Notably, under Xi, China has created ever closer ties with Russia because he needed a forecast.
Again, six days later, in an unhappy escalation of the devastating war, Putin declared openly a “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens in a televised speech and even raised the specter of using nuclear weapons.
Nevertheless, it is yet to be known if Putin communicated his planned escalation with Xi. According to some Chinese analysts, Putin’s setbacks and escalation of the war offered China an opportunity to tilt away from Russia.
“China has no other choice except (to) stay away somewhat further from Putin because of his war escalation, his aggression and annexation, and his renewed threat of nuclear war,” said Shi with Renmin University.
“China has not wanted this unheeding friend (to) fight. What may be his fate on the battlefield is not a business manageable at all by China.”
Few are also saying that Putin’s open entry of Beijing’s qualms does not certainly signal a gap between the two diplomatic backers. Further, it could be a way for China to gain some sensitive wiggle room, particularly given how its assumed support for Russia has hurt Beijing’s image in Europe.