Commentary
Russia’s foreign ministry recently announced that Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Russia in the spring and possibly in February, but the Chinese side has not confirmed.
On Dec. 30 last year, when Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi held a video call, Putin extended an invitation to Xi, and Russian media reported on it. But Chinese state-run media deliberately concealed the invitation in their coverage of the meeting.
The Chinese media’s response reflects Xi’s hesitation. He does not want to be tied to Putin, who could lose the war with Ukraine. If Russia becomes weak economically and militarily, Xi is worried that China would lose a powerful ally and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will be even more isolated in the international community. This is why Xi did not immediately agree to Putin’s invitation. Furthermore, Xi may have wanted to wait and see how the Russia-Ukraine war would progress. If Russia wins, Xi would go to Russia to show his determination to reshape the international order; but if Russia loses, Xi does not want Putin to drag him down, just as he has not provided concrete military aid to Russia after repeated warnings from the United States….