Kenan AĞAZADE
A telephone conversation took place between President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Xi Jinping and with the President of United States of America Joe Biden. The conversation lasted about two hours.The last week had full of panic messages in the Western media that China is ready to provide military and economic assistance to Russia. The anxiety of the collective West about such scenario is quite understandable – if China makes such a decision, the world will forget the one of the most important factors that determines international relations. This important factor connects with the conception that relations with the USA are more essential for Beijing than the relationship with other geopolitical actors. It is impossible to compare bilateral economic ties of USA and China with the other players.
There is an impression that the Chinese leader did not fully understand what the American president want to explain to him, since Beijing has a positive and calm attitude to Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Therefore, the dialogue took place and Joe Biden repeatedly returned to the topic of the inadmissibility of Chinese aid to Moscow. He also asked President Xi to change his attitude towards the Ukrainian crisis. According to Biden, this means that China must take into the consideration the side of the West in the crisis.
Xi Jinping repeated to Joe Biden again. This conflict is not in the interests of China and is not in anyone’s interests. Thus, China clearly confirms its neutrality and refusal to take sides in this conflict.
In fact, the Chinese leadership remained within the framework that it set after the Russian annexation of Crimea, which Beijing perceived as the irrational action. China immediately declared during that action that they respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and therefore they will never recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia. At the same time, the Chinese government heavily criticized the economic sanctions imposed against Moscow. However, they used it as the opportunity to expand their presence in the Russian economy.
They will act and the same scenario also now – to maintain neutrality and actively realize the opportunities that open them in Russian economy because of the confrontation with the West. Russia did not want to sell its most advanced military technology to China. Nowadays, Russia simply will not have another choice. Russia did not want to make deals in yuan because it was not convertible enough compare with dollars and euros. The yuan will now become the default currency in Sino-Russian trade. China intends to stay remain and be loyal to this policy also with friends. The pragmatic approach press China remains neutral in the Ukrainian crisis. This is unpleasant fact for President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin
But Beijing did not say anything good also to Biden. Since he takes a pro-Western position in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and as usual, Americans does not offer China anything in return, moreover, they frankly dodges.
During a conversation with Xi Jinping, he promised the Chinese leader not to start a cold war with China – but in fact, the trade war continues for four years. He said that he would not create an anti-Chinese bloc – but there are already two of them, QUAD and AUKUS. The American president promised not to support Taiwan independence, but right now the US send them all necessary weapons and technology.
Finally, Joe Biden was very lucky and fortunate person that Xi Jinping continued the dialogue with him under such American approach towards Taiwan. The Mao Zedong historically ignored the telephone calls of the American president when he was a friend of the Soviet Union. Beijing fully realizes the war in Ukraine became rapidly devouring the remnants of the Biden presidency. And the sanctions threat negatively also the United States and influence positively the formulation of the alliance and maybe collation with the presence of Russia and China. The western sanctions will have less effect against Russia, and it will not create the chaos if China will really help them to avoid the consequences of the sanctions. Furthermore, if the American president fails to achieve positive changes in the domestic agenda and the USA will plunge into a big economic crisis. It will be another window of opportunity for Beijing.