China and Russia are being pushed into a closer geopolitical partnership by President Trump’s foreign policy decisions, a diplomat in Beijing argued Thursday.
“A certain country has been seeking an absolute strategic edge in the military field by practicing unilateralism and undermining arms control and nonproliferation regimes, which has posed severe challenges to global strategic equilibrium and stability,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters. “China and Russia have the duty and obligation to safeguard global strategic stability.”
Geng offered that thinly veiled accusation against the the United States to explain why Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement outlining their agreement on key foreign controversies during a state visit this week. Xi traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg, touting his “best and bosom” friendship with Putin, in an apparent foreshadowing of a closer partnership against western powers.
“Both malign actors have the same aim — undermining U.S. interests globally — that’s a concern when two geopolitical hooligans are talking,” an Eastern European diplomat told the Washington Examiner. “The very fact that they both have a common understanding or tacit support makes a huge difference. Kind of emboldens those efforts.”
The Trump administration and European officials disagree about how to counter the threats posed by China, even though the EU regards the communist regime as a “systemic rival.” An American diplomat warned earlier Thursday against a naive view of Chinese economic partnerships that could give Beijing “control” over key ports or communications systems, while the European Union has taken a gentler approach with China.
“China is a great country,” Pedro Serrano, a deputy secretary general at the European External Action Service, said Thursday. “It’s going to continue to develop strongly, and what we have to see is how we can help China channel its energies in order that it develops in a way that will actually help the rest of the world.”
Putin and Xi presented a united front this week. “We confirmed that Russia’s and China’s stances on key global issues are similar or coincide, as diplomats say,” Putin said Wednesday.
