Beijing talks of peace but deepens its ties with Moscow

Jesus Centeno |

Beijing, Mar 22 (EFE).- With its proposals to end the war in Ukraine, China seeks to counter criticism that it supports Russia and show that it supports peace, while deepening its exchanges with Moscow, including the use of the yuan as an alternative to trading in dollars.

In the meetings held in Moscow, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, managed to get his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to support the ambiguous Chinese peace plan “as a basis for a future settlement of the conflict”, although the West is suspicious of the proposal.

They consider that Beijing is not impartial because it has not condemned the Russian invasion and criticize that Xi has not yet spoken with the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, although that conversation could take place after his trip to Russia.

According to Chinese analysts, in the West it stings that the Sino-Russian relationship intensifies and leaves more and more dividends for Beijing, which is why Xi wanted to stage his more mediating side.

“With its peace plan, China is trying to take a more balanced position after declaring last year, just before the war, that its friendship with Russia had no limits,” academic Pang Zhongying, from the University of Russia, told local press. Sichuan.

Meanwhile, Wang Yiwei, of the People’s University, says China is more than happy to do business with Russia but acknowledges that it “will face increasing pressure” as a mediator later this year, when Xi is expected to meet in Beijing with French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders.

The expert believes that China wants to give the image of a responsible power but “it is not so easy” to mediate as it did recently between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“There is a war going on with huge consequences. China is realistic. He does not expect an instant ceasefire, but a consensus that all parties can accept, ”she indicates.

The return of the annexed territory

Thus, Xi and Putin agreed to “take steps to help stop the escalation of tensions”, although Washington pointed out that the way to stop them is by withdrawing Russian soldiers from Ukraine.

And although the Chinese plan defends “the territorial integrity of the countries”, it does not allude at any time to the Russian annexation of four Ukrainian regions or to the withdrawal of its troops.

Instead, it does call for an end to sanctions and for “Russia’s security concerns” to be taken into account in the face of NATO’s advance.

“Ukraine asks Russia to return its four regions and Crimea… Does anyone think that Russia will accept that? Ukraine will also not accept Russia taking its land. The outcome of the war is still unclear, and it is impossible for China to bet on one side. The Chinese proposal is to open a framework to talk,” says Wang.

exchanges grow

At the end of the visit, Xi added that “there are changes that have not occurred in a hundred years” and that he and Putin are “leading” them, referring to the fact that their “strategic partnership” is, in Chinese eyes, “a factor positive for global stability” that opposes “the confrontation of blocs” and “unilateralism”.

Thus, the official China Daily newspaper has praised the fact that both leaders expressed their concern about strengthening NATO’s military ties with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, one of Beijing’s obsessions, while the People’s Daily celebrates that bilateral exchanges continue to grow.

Not surprisingly, the two countries agreed to build the “Siberian Force 2” gas pipeline, with which Moscow has found another alternative to Western sanctions while Beijing continues to multiply its energy imports.

In 2022, supplies through the “Siberian Force” gas pipeline reached a record 15.5 billion cubic meters, which represents an increase of 49% compared to 2021, and it is expected that by 2025 the figure will reach 38 billion per year. .

Meanwhile, Chinese imports of crude from Russia shot up 23.8% year-on-year in January and February 2023, according to data from Chinese Customs, at a time when the Asian giant is trying to revitalize its economy after lifting the strict policy of ‘zero covid’.

“Energy will be the cornerstone of cooperation. Beijing has a big appetite and hopefully it will last a long time,” expert Luo Zuoxian told China Daily.

The yuan to the dollar

But it’s not just energy: Chinese demand for agricultural products, timber, seafood or chemical fertilizers from Russia is increasing along with Russian imports of Chinese electronics and home appliances, among others, expert Wei Jinshen told the Chinese financial portal YiCai.

Thus, Beijing seems delighted that bilateral trade could reach 200,000 million dollars this year -a year ahead of schedule- at a time when Putin himself has offered his “support” to Chinese companies that wish to occupy the niches of Western firms that left the country.

Putin advocated increasing the use of the yuan as an alternative to trading in dollars, in line with Beijing’s attempts to internationalize its currency, and aimed to expand this practice to other markets, including Asia, Africa and Latin America.