The Unvarnished Truth Behind Xi And Putin’s Meeting

The Moscow meeting between China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin has the press buzzing about a new global order determined to stand against the West and the United States.

On the surface, it looks exactly like that – an alliance between autocracies intent on preserving themselves, their clients and their power:

In their joint statement, the two authoritarian leaders called for promoting a “multipolar world” – a buzzword for a system not led by so-called Western values and rules, and pledged to work together to “safeguard the international system,” and the United Nations – where the two have a track record of blocking motions, including against actors like North Korea.

They also hit out at Washington at multiple points – including saying they “urge the United States to stop undermining international and regional security and global strategic stability in order to maintain its own unilateral military superiority.”

And if that’s a bit too much to swallow, there’s always the scripted mugging for the cameras:

“There’s a change coming that hasn’t happened in 100 years. When we are together, we are driving this change,” Xi said as the two parted, according to the Kremlin RIA Novosti pool.

“I agree,” Putin said.

“Take care, dear friend,” Xi replied.

Let’s see, 100 years ago. Those weren’t exactly the best of times for Chinese-Russian government relations. But it was a different story among Chinese revolutionaries:

In 1921, guided by an agent dispatched from Moscow, the Chinese Communist Party held its founding congress, in Shanghai. A young agitator named Mao Zedong attended. Within a few years, Mao and his comrades had established districts called Su-wei-ai (Soviets) in China’s hinterland, where the Nationalist government was weak and discontent widespread. At first, the Communists were scarcely distinguishable from the millenarian sects that had arisen during other periods of state dysfunction in Chinese history. Mao and his colleagues channeled local religious practice to proselytize among the peasantry. Seeking converts among coal miners in the mountainous interior, Communist agents in the town of Anyuan paraded a bust of Marx on a palanquin normally reserved for temple gods.

I strongly doubt this is what Xi had in mind with his 100 years remark. But it plays to Putin’s insatiable vanity. The reality of this meeting is much closer to what Sam Greene of the Center for European Policy Analysis noted in a long Twitter thread following the autocrats’ photo-op. Green’s bottom line:

Putin tells his people he’s fighting for Russia’s sovereignty. In truth, he’s mortgaged the Kremlin to Beijing.

The question now is one for Xi: What will he do with his newest acquisition?

Russia has gone from world power to also-ran to vassal state in relatively short order. Mr. Xi may regret taking an ownership stake in such a weak asset. Then again, Russia is hardly in a position to reject any of China’s demands or fail to fulfill any of China’s wants and needs.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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