‘Peacemaker’ China stands by Russia partnership

Top representatives from the Chinese and Russian governments met in China for their highest level in-person meeting since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, reiterating their “no limits” partnership.

The meeting came ahead of a broader multicountry meeting, which includes the United States, focused on Afghanistan as the Chinese Communist Party attempts to cast itself as a peace mediator there — a move it has also tried to replicate in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made his first visit to China since the Ukraine invasion began in late February, and he and his team engaged in discussions with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where the two sides reaffirmed their friendship despite calls from the U.S. and the West for China to pressure the Kremlin into ending its war. The meeting took place in the town of Tunxi in the Anhui province.

Video shows Wang and Lavrov meeting and bumping elbows Wednesday. Wang blamed the war in Ukraine in part on “accumulated European security contradictions, Cold War thinking, and confrontations between groups.”

China is attempting to present itself as a mediator in Russia’s war against Ukraine while amplifying Kremlin narratives justifying the conflict and pointing the finger at the U.S. and NATO. President Joe Biden spoke with General Secretary Xi Jinping for two hours earlier this month during which time China says it laid some of the blame on NATO for Russia’s invasion and reiterated its claims over Taiwan, while the White House says Biden described the consequences of Xi providing material support to Russia.

The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry and state-run media have also joined the Kremlin in pushing allegations about Pentagon-backed biological warfare labs in Ukraine, claims the U.S. has repeatedly rebutted.

Republicans want Biden to do more to pressure China on pushing Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine and to make the consequences clear to Xi if he decides to help Putin even more.

GOP PUSHES BIDEN TO DO MORE TO PRESSURE CHINA ON RUSSIA

The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed Wednesday that the Chinese and Russian ministers “had a thorough exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine” and that Lavrov told Wang “about the progress of the special military operation … and the dynamics of the negotiation process with the Kyiv regime.” The Kremlin also contended that “the sides noted the counterproductive nature of the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and its satellites.”

Wang reportedly said the China-Russia partnership had “withstood the test of international turbulence” and that “our striving for peace has no limits, our upholding of security has no limits, our opposition towards hegemony has no limits.”

The Chinese official also reportedly said Moscow and Beijing are now “more determined” to build their strategic partnership and that their alliance was moving in the “correct” direction, even during the Ukraine invasion.

Putin and Xi met at the start of the Olympics in February to announce a broad strategic partnership “without limits” amid Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s border. Since the start of the war, China has carefully avoided condemning Russia. While the U.S. criticizes China for its “at least tacit approval” of Russia’s invasion, China has repeatedly sought to place blame at the feet of the U.S., calling it one of the “culprits of the crisis.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin reiterated Wednesday that “there is no limit to China-Russia cooperation in the pursuit of peace, no limit to our efforts to safeguard security, and no limit to our opposition to hegemony. China-Russia relations feature non-alliance, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of any third party.”

He also discussed Afghanistan, stating that “special representatives for the Afghan issue of the U.S., Russia, and Pakistan will attend the extended meeting of the China-U.S.-Russia consultation mechanism on the Afghan issue.” He claimed Tuesday that the goal was to “further build consensus on the Afghan issue, encourage regional countries, and the international community to step up support for peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan, and help the country achieve peace.”

The Chinese state-run Global Times ran a piece Wednesday titled “Russian and U.S. officials to attend meeting in China on Afghan situation, amid China’s efforts to mediate heated issues.”

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The Taliban rapidly took over in Afghanistan following a chaotic U.S. military withdrawal last year, and an August suicide bombing by ISIS-K killed 13 U.S. service members during evacuation efforts at the Kabul airport, with the Taliban providing security outside.

China has seemingly been laying the groundwork to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, though it has not yet done so.

Wang Yi reportedly visited Kabul last week to meet with Taliban leaders. The State Department said this week that Tom West, the special representative for Afghanistan, will represent the U.S. at the extended troika talks on Afghanistan in China this week.

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