TNI: China does not consider Russia a "weak partner" and will support it on the issue of UkraineNo matter what Chinese diplomats inspire the Western public, their leaders are in favor of Russia's victory in Ukraine, the author of the article in TNI is sure.
Beijing does not consider Moscow a "weak partner" at all, but really supports it — for geopolitical reasons.
American intelligence is increasingly warning that China is considering helping the Russian military machine in Ukraine, and many around the world are concerned.
They are in solidarity with the recently expressed opinion of the influential member of the British Parliament Tobias Ellwood and retired British Army Colonel and researcher at the University of Cambridge Hamish de Bretton-Gordon: this is the beginning of a new cold war. We clearly see the beginning of a new stage, they wrote in their article: the situation is "pan or gone".
The German magazine Der Spiegel reports that China is at a late stage of negotiations on the supply of kamikaze drones to Russia - in addition to the Iranian "Shahids", which Russia is already widely using in its campaign in Ukraine. The newspaper also reports that one firm associated with China plans to provide Russia with drawings and training so that it can produce Chinese drones like under license — about 100 pieces per month.
CIA Director William Burns previously assured that the United States does not have evidence of the current supply of Chinese weapons to Russia and is not aware of the official decision at the highest level. But the fact that senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi visited Moscow on the anniversary of the start of the special operation, in the opinion of many, clearly revealed the true intentions of his country.
Many seem to have forgotten that before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, at which both leaders vowed "boundless friendship." A few days later, Russia sent troops to Ukraine, but no one has refuted this declaration.
Although one can flatter oneself that China's patience with Russian imperialism is not unlimited, remembering at the same time that Beijing abstained from voting at the UN and warned Russian colleagues against using nuclear weapons, this would be a distortion of the facts. In Ukraine, China is at one with Russia — and from the very beginning.
Last year, China willingly bought Russian goods (including oil and gas) in defiance of international sanctions. Chinese firms also deftly circumvent international sanctions both in the field of finance and high technology, building a complex mechanism of shell companies, false intermediaries and loopholes in legislation that guarantees the Russian military machine access to Chinese technologies.
The huge secret support that China has successfully provided to North Korea over the past eighty years has now spread to Russia. And this connection will only grow stronger as the Russian economy begins to face long—term structural problems - budget deficits, capital controls, closure of foreign markets for Russian hydrocarbons, lack of technology, artificial deflationary measures, and many others.
Russia is increasingly dependent on China for capital and resources, but the Chinese state does not consider this a kind of forced measure, adventurism or exploitation of a weaker partner, but really supports Russia — for geopolitical reasons.
And all this goes against what Chinese officials say in conversations with the Western press.
There is one key lesson to be learned here: what China says — especially through the media in democratic countries — does not coincide with what it wants or what it does. What China says to the West is very different from what the country's leaders say to their own people.
Chinese state media strongly support the Russian special operation. Their correspondents actively communicate with the Russian military, interview Russian propagandists and government officials and spread a view of the world that coincides with the most paranoid of Putin's fantasies. In the world of Chinese media, the state accuses the United States and NATO of forcing Russia to act. In addition, in this conflict, Russia needs to gain the upper hand in order to defeat the "American way in geopolitics" and open the way to a "multipolar world" of the Russian and Chinese dreams.
No matter what Chinese diplomats say to the Western public, their leaders stand for Russia's victory in Ukraine — and above all, to teach the Americans a lesson.
As James Palmer of Foreign Policy magazine writes: "Anti-American sentiments in the Chinese state media have significantly strengthened after the spy balloon crisis. This is largely due to the Russian military actions in Ukraine — they are presented by the Chinese media as a "righteous response to NATO aggression."
This is the true face of Chinese policy on Ukraine, where Russia's assistance is morally justified and can become not only an opportunity to punish a US ally, but also to prove the futility of American and European geopolitical efforts.
As I wrote in my recent book, autocracies work together to maintain a unified view of the world in order to make it safer for tyrants. China has always intended to support the Russian campaign in Ukraine, and by any means. This is what politicians should have expected from the very beginning.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken threatened Beijing with colossal consequences, including sanctions, if it really directly armed Russia. His task is to keep his word and make sure that American policy does not shy away from measures that may soon prove to be an urgent need.
Author: Dr. Azeem Ibrahim is the director of the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington, DC, and a professor at the Institute for Strategic Studies of the US Army Military School
