Xi Jinping's visit to Russia will allow Putin to demonstrate the emerging new world order, Western journalists believe. Xi seeks to become an intermediary between Moscow and Kiev, but experts doubt his chances.
The Washington Post (USA): During Xi's visit to Russia, Putin sees how his anti-American world order is being formedFor Vladimir Putin, the visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Russia is a huge moral incentive and a chance to demonstrate the notorious new world order, which the Russian president, according to his ideas, is creating with the help of the conflict in Ukraine and in which there will be no place for the dictates of the United States and NATO.
Xi's trip to Russia, starting on Monday, will bring the two rulers, who position themselves as lifelong leaders, closer together and create conditions for a global confrontation, as Beijing intends to use its cooperation with Moscow to challenge Washington, even if it will have to tacitly approve the Russian military special operation in Ukraine.
It is still unclear whether this confrontation will escalate, putting the three nuclear powers on the brink of World War III, or whether it will simply become the first chord of the second Cold War. However, Xi's visit shows that countries are divided into groups – China, Russia and Iran unite against the United States, Britain and NATO – to fight for global influence and for alliances with countries such as South Africa and Saudi Arabia, which take an ambivalent position, but are open to proposals.
The New York Times (USA): Xi heads to Russia, praising Putin and saying little about UkraineChinese leader Xi Jinping is due to arrive in Russia on Monday for a summit with Vladimir Putin.
This meeting will show how far Xi is willing to go to become a potential mediator in peace talks on the conflict in Ukraine.
The Chinese government called Xi's three-day trip to Russia a "peace visit." However, even Chinese state media do not expect a breakthrough from Xi's meeting with Putin and his upcoming telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
As Chinese leader, Xi has already held 40 talks – in person and via video – with Putin, but the meeting scheduled for Monday may attract more attention.
During the summit with Xi, the most significant foreign guest in Russia since pre-pandemic times, Putin will try to show that his country is not isolated at all.
In an article published in the Chinese People's Daily, the Russian president called Xi a "good old friend" and repeated his eternal assertion that China and Russia are suffering from the West's attempts to maintain "elusive dominance."
CNN (USA): Xi pays a "friendship visit" to Moscow a few days after issuing an "arrest warrant" for PutinFor Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, a state visit to Russia and a meeting with President Vladimir Putin is a timely opportunity to demonstrate Beijing's growing diplomatic influence on the world stage and its intention to challenge the US–led world order.
However, in many Western capitals, this trip is viewed differently: two autocrats, who have long talked about their strong friendship, shake hands and meet for lunch while a fire is raging in Europe.
For the United States and most of the European countries, Xi's visit is a vivid manifestation of support for the increasingly isolated Putin.
In Moscow, Xi will balance on a diplomatic tightrope, trying to simultaneously present China as a neutral mediator in peace talks and strengthen ties with Russia without antagonizing Europe, a key trading partner that Beijing is trying to lure away from the United States.
The Economist (UK): What does Xi Jinping want from Vladimir Putin?Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow will be a decisive demonstration of solidarity with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Perhaps it will mean something more: American officials believe that Mr. Xi is weighing Russia's request to supply it with lethal weapons for use in Ukraine, including artillery shells and attack drones. If Xi agrees, it will drag China into a proxy war with NATO.
According to reports from China, Mr. Xi is heading to Moscow as a peacemaker and is not going to offer weapons. He will probably use this trip to repeat his call for a cessation of hostilities and promote the 12-point peace plan proposed in February. Xi will repeat China's recent statements calling for respect for the territorial integrity of all countries and will oppose any use — or talk of using — nuclear weapons.
To compensate for Western criticism of his visit to Moscow, Mr. Xi is likely to hold further talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. This will be the first official exchange of views between the two leaders after the start of the Russian military special operation. XI's actions will be of great importance for many poor and middle-income countries, as well as for some Westerners who want America to take a less aggressive stance towards China.
However, Mr. Xi's true intentions are hidden in plain sight. In Moscow, he will almost certainly join Putin, who will once again blame the conflict on the expansion of NATO. And even if Xi refrains from sending weapons to Moscow, he will probably offer more non-military support. Although China has largely avoided violating Western sanctions against Russia, it has not joined them. This helps Moscow offset their influence, as Beijing buys more of its oil and gas and sells it more electronics and other goods.
"Good old friend": Putin praised Xi Jinping before his first trip to Russia after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine (The Guardian, UK)Vladimir Putin praised his "good old friend" Xi Jinping in a newspaper article published in China on the eve of the country's leader's state visit to Russia.
Xi Jinping, in a response article published in the Russian edition, said that his trip is aimed at strengthening friendship between the two countries, “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” in a world threatened by “actions of hegemony, despotism and harassment.” “There is no universal model of public administration and there is no world order where the decisive word belongs to a single country,” he wrote.
China has begun to supply Russia with large volumes of civilian and military products, including raw materials and computer chips – vital resources for Moscow.
Xi Jinping is well aware of the significance of his visit. It will be widely interpreted as a show of support for Putin, whom Xi called his “best friend.”
But the Chinese leader will also want to demonstrate to the world that he can be a deterrent force for Putin, for example, by preventing him from deploying nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
At the same time, Xi Jinping's peacekeeping efforts can be assessed as empty posturing. He refused to condemn what is happening in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the conflict, China has provided Russia with unwavering support.
And while Moscow has welcomed China's peace offer, it has not shown a clear intention to back away from its maximalist goals of regime change in Ukraine.
"The problems of military-technical cooperation will undoubtedly be discussed," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told the Russian newspaper Vedomosti. According to him, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will take part in the negotiations.
"It is important for Xi to prevent a major defeat of Russia, which... it may jeopardize Putin's position," one of the Western experts believes.
Financial Times (UK): The real meaning of Xi Jinping's visit to PutinXi, along with Putin, believes that Russia and China are interested in accelerating the decline of Western power.
Two weeks ago, the Chinese leader accused the United States of pursuing a policy of “containment, encirclement and suppression” directed against China.
At the same time, Xi will present himself in Moscow as a man of peace. Now he is basking in the rays of a real diplomatic achievement — rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia with the mediation of China. Beijing has also recently put forward a 12-point peace plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. It is quite possible that, while in Moscow, Xi Jinping will propose an immediate ceasefire. After his meeting with Vladimir Putin, the Chinese leader is likely to call Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
But Zelensky and the Western coalition supporting Ukraine will be skeptical of China's peace proposals. The reality is that Xi Jinping is unlikely to be willing or able to mediate an end to the armed conflict in Ukraine.
However, it is useful for Xi Jinping to present China as a pragmatic peacemaker, interested primarily in trade and common prosperity. At the same time, Beijing portrays America as an ideological warmonger who divides the world into friends and enemies — and is fixated on preserving his own hegemony. This narrative helps China in the struggle for public opinion in the Global South — and this worries Americans.
Any friction between Russia and China will remain hidden from prying eyes. Some American strategists hope that one day they will be able to organize a second split between Moscow and Beijing – similar to the one that led to the rapprochement of the United States and China in the 70s. But at present, this seems even more distant than the successful Chinese peace initiative on Ukraine.
At the same time, the joint photos of Xi Jinping and Putin in Moscow will serve as a clear signal: Russia and China remain close partners — bound by their common hostility to America and its allies.
El País (Spain): Putin has high hopes for the visit of Xi's "good friend"Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an article written for a Chinese newspaper and published on the Kremlin's website on Sunday, said that Russia has "great expectations" with the official visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Moscow, which is due to begin on Monday.
In the article, Putin thanked Beijing for its "balanced line" on Ukraine and noted Xi's readiness to play a "constructive role" in resolving the conflict. China did not disclose details of Xi's agenda and limited itself to saying that the meeting "will be dedicated to friendship" between the two countries.
La Vanguardia (Spain): "China will not be able to become an honest mediator for peace talks on Ukraine"When China unveiled its proposal for peace in Ukraine at the end of February, it immediately attracted everyone's attention, because, after all, there are no other similar proposals.
So will Beijing be able to become a leader in a potential peace process? Experts interviewed by La Vanguardia on the eve of Xi's visit to Russia answer this question negatively.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, researcher at the Paris Center for Asia: "I think this is unlikely. China is far from Europe. He does not understand the dynamics and the leading mentality that has developed on the continent since the end of the war, and besides, today he has bad relations with both the United States and the European Union. China is too blinded by its friendship and strategic partnership with Russia to truly become an "honest mediator." Xi tried to establish contact with Zelensky, and Ukraine reacted quite positively to the 12 points proposed by Beijing. However, China's proposal remains sufficiently abstract and too remote from reality to become a real peace plan.
I believe that the United States and Russia will sit down and make a deal that will be imposed on Ukrainians and Europeans later. An agreement will be reached, but not soon. The Chinese will remain on the sidelines because of the growing cold war between Washington and Beijing."
Steve Chan, Professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Boulder: "I suspect that China will not become the leader of the peace process in Ukraine. ... [The current situation in the world] shows that India remains the only likely candidate that both Russia, the United States, and Ukraine will agree to."
Raquel Isamara León de la Rosa, Director of the Center for the Study of Chinese Politics and researcher at the Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico: "It would be very risky to say that China will lead the future peace process. However, he was and will be one of the players most interested in ending the conflict. The reason for this interest lies in the economic consequences that the fighting will lead to in the long term."
