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Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin met on Tuesday, March 21, in the Kremlin to discuss the war in Ukraine. RFI interviewed Frédéric Mertens, professor of international relations at the European University (Valencia), about the meeting between the Russian and Chinese presidents in Moscow, three days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president.
RFI: Xi Jinping is the first president to meet Vladimir Putin after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him. Apart from this great show of support, the Chinese president said that his country and Russia were “neighboring great powers” and “strategic partners.” What do you think of this meeting?
Frederic Mertens: It is what I would call “the kiss of death”. In this sense, China has become the main, almost the only, significant strategic support and capital for the Putin regime. This contributes to the increased dependence of the Putin regime on Beijing. Without China’s support, Russia would not be able to act as it is doing today, defying the Westerners.
At the same time, it should not be overlooked that China will demand more from Russia to extend its geopolitical influence. In this purpose, Beijing needs another “great country”. And I put quotation marks because Russia is already considered a pariah state. But Moscow serves Beijing to redesign the international order and organize that order. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the dynamics that Westerners have assumed have turned that conflict into a proxy war between the West and China through Russia.
History is a permanent cycle and today we are seeing symptoms of the Cold War, from that time when the United States and the Soviet Union were in direct opposition worldwide, through two blocs, the East and the West.
RFI: However, China presented a 12-point peace plan that Russia welcomes.
Frederic Mertens: Yes, Russia looks favorably on it because China is silent on the valuation of war and invasion. In this Chinese plan, where do you see the mention of the aggressor, Russia, against the attacked, Ukraine? Moreover, for the Chinese, the situation is almost the other way around: they make Ukraine bear a certain responsibility for this situation.
I would not dare to say that the Chinese peace plan is a farce, but in any case it is something that should not be taken seriously. For me, there is no real desire for peace.
RFI: So what is China looking for with that plan?
Frederic Mertens: It is to present itself as the alter ego of the United States in trying to impose a “pax china.” Before it was the “pax americana”; now, it is the “pax china”.
R.F.I. And do you think that “pax china” is possible?
Frederic Mertens: The member countries of the European Union have recently agreed to increase their investment in weapons to support Ukraine, indicating that it is essential for Europeans that Ukraine win this war. They must win it at all costs because if Ukraine loses it or if Russia wins it, with or without China’s help, it would be a disaster for Ukraine and a catastrophe for Westerners.
As for the “pax china”, I think China is trying to establish itself as the world leader and present itself as the new champion of peace. However, it is still too early for China to impose its vision of peace on the world.
