The Kremlin is trying to make cooperation with itself more attractive to China, according to the latest report of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) dated April 14.
In this way, the institution commented on the future the visit to Russia of the Minister of Defense of China Li Shangfu, which should take place from April 16 to 18. According to the Institute’s assessment, the Kremlin is “probably trying to portray Russia as an equal defense partner of China.”
ISW reminds that earlier the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Qin Gang, said that Beijing will not supply weapons to the Russian Federation for the war against Ukraine.
“Tsin’s comments demonstrate China’s continued efforts to rhetorically play down its support for Russia and show that there are limits to the ‘unlimited’ partnership that Russia and China proclaimed before the full-scale invasion began,” the report said.
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The institute suggested that Putin failed to secure an open-ended partnership with China during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow in March.
According to ISW analysts, in order to make cooperation more attractive to China, Moscow launched military exercises of its Pacific fleet. In addition, the exercises may be aimed at curbing the support of Ukraine by Japan, which currently chairs the Group of Seven. At the same time, they doubt that Moscow is really capable of threatening Japan:
“The Pacific Fleet probably lacks the available combat power in the Pacific region to establish a posture that would truly threaten Japan or be suitable for Russia’s attempts to demonstrate its power to convince China that it is an equal military force.”
China has never publicly supported a full-scale invasion of Russia to Ukraine, but also never criticized Moscow because of the war.
The West expressed concern that China could provide Russia with lethal weapons.