{"id":51368,"date":"2024-05-15T19:04:04","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T19:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/vladimir-putins-visits-chinas-leader-xi-shows-where-his-priorities-lie-but-one-is-clearly-stronger-than-the-other\/"},"modified":"2024-05-15T19:04:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T19:04:04","slug":"vladimir-putins-visits-chinas-leader-xi-shows-where-his-priorities-lie-but-one-is-clearly-stronger-than-the-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/vladimir-putins-visits-chinas-leader-xi-shows-where-his-priorities-lie-but-one-is-clearly-stronger-than-the-other\/","title":{"rendered":"Vladimir Putin’s visits China’s leader Xi shows where his priorities lie – but one is clearly stronger than the other"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Vladimir<\/div>


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You’ve heard of the transatlantic ‘Special Relationship’. This is the “No Limits” partnership – a term coined when Vladimir Putin visited Beijing in February 2022.<\/p>\n

It was just days before he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

A lot’s changed for Russia<\/a><\/strong> since then, of course.<\/p>\n

It’s now an international pariah. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is China’s<\/a><\/strong> support.<\/p>\n

Why? For one, Presidents Xi and Putin share a similar outlook. Both oppose external “interference” in domestic affairs, and long for a “multipolar” world.<\/p>\n

There are economic benefits for both, too. But this is not an equal partnership. The power lies with Beijing.<\/p>\n

“Because of the war, Russia is in desperate need of any kind of partnership”, said Alexandra Prokopenko, a Berlin-based fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, adding that Beijing had provided “a real lifeline” for Moscow.<\/p>\n

“China is not only a market for Russian oil and gas, which is the major source of the currency for the Russian budget, but also China’s become a very important source of imports to Russia,” she said.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Cardboard cut-outs of the two leaders on Moscow’s main tourist street
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\n \"Cheap\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Cheap energy flows from Russia to China, in return for cars and affordable electronics
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Putin won’t like being the junior partner, but it’s a role he’s clearly willing to accept, given the benefits.<\/p>\n

Last year, trade between the two nations soared to $240bn (\u00a3189bn) – an increase of more than 25%.<\/p>\n

Cheap energy flows one way; cars and telephones come back.<\/p>\n

But the West fears that’s not all Russia is importing.<\/p>\n

The US and others believe Chinese products and dual-use goods, like machine tools and microelectronics, are also fuelling the Kremlin’s war machine, by filling critical gaps in its military-industrial complex.<\/p>\n

China denies supplying any actual weaponry, and maintains a neutral stance on Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Read more from Sky News:
Slovak prime minister shot and in ‘life-threatening condition’<\/a>
Interpol red notice issued for fugitive gangster ‘The Fly’<\/a>
‘Super fluffy’ candy floss planet bigger than Jupiter discovered<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News<\/p>\n

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But the assertions have done little to dampen suspicions, with US secretary of state Antony Blinken reiterating his “deep concern” on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Putin’s entourage might also raise eyebrows. He’ll be accompanied by his new defence minister, Andrei Belousov, with Putin widely expected to push for more support for Russia’s militarised economy.<\/p>\n

But despite the “no limits” characterisation of the relationship, analysts say it does have boundaries.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

“China knows red lines”, Prokopenko said, referring to Washington’s concerns over the extent of Beijing’s support.<\/p>\n

In her view, the partnership between Xi and Putin should be viewed “as part of a big, big game between the US and China”.<\/p>\n

In that sense, then, this visit is likely to be more symbolic than anything else. It’s the first foreign trip of Putin’s new presidential term and signals his priorities.<\/p>\n

But in terms of the optics – two strongmen leaders defying Western pressure – one of them is clearly stronger than the other.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’ve heard of the transatlantic ‘Special Relationship’. This is the “No Limits” partnership – a term coined when Vladimir Putin visited Beijing in February 2022. It was just days before he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A lot’s changed for Russia since then, of course. It’s now an international pariah. One thing that hasn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/05\/768x432\/skynews-russia-china-trade_6555141.jpg?20240515183147","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7940,1891,43659,51304,3979,1116,19244,6137,1458],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51368"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51370,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51368\/revisions\/51370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}