China May Pay Price For Backing Russia: NYT
New York, Feb 28: China may pay a heavy cost for its backing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “For China, the costs of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s adventurism could be high,” the New York Times said in a commentary.
The Russian attack on Ukraine has forced Chinese President Xi Jinping into what former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called an “impossible balancing act” between Xi’s personal camaraderie with the Russian leader and the potential for blowback for China.
On Friday, Xi spoke by telephone with Putin but stopped far short of endorsing the assault on Ukraine. He said all countries should “abandon a Cold War mentality”. But there is no sign that Xi did anything to ward off the invasion, if he knew it was coming, the Times said.
His senior advisers rebuffed American requests to use China’s influence with Putin to discourage an attack. Instead, China shared the Americans’ intelligence with the Russians and accused the United States of trying to sow discord, according to American officials.
For China, the costs of Russia’s adventurism could be high, the report said. The daily noted that for more than a decade, Xi and Putin have forged a respectful, perhaps even warm relationship, reflecting the deepening ties between two world powers that share a common cause against the US military and economic might.
“The invasion of Ukraine could upend all that — or forge, in diplomatic isolation, an alliance that reshapes the world order in the 21st century,” it said.
“I don’t think this is good for anybody,” Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization, a research organization in Beijing that advises the government, was quoted as saying.
“Conflict is not a solution, and China doesn’t want to see things deteriorate”. China has deep ties with Europe and the US that it cannot afford to sever, despite growing tensions in those relationships.
The Ukraine invasion has rattled Chinese stock markets and threatens to roil the global economy. Putin appears to be banking on China’s support over Ukraine — explicit or not — in the face of punitive measures the US and others have already begun to impose.
