China will not support Putin to overcome his failures in Ukraine - ISW

This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

"Xi and Putin touted the strength of Chinese-Russian relations in their meeting on March 20, but offered differing interpretations of the scale of future relations in articles they published on March 19," the analysts explain.

The report points out that Putin published an article in which he claimed that Russia and China "are building a partnership to shape a multipolar world order in spite of the collective desire for Western dominance and the US policy of dual containment against China and Russia."

Xi, in turn, proposed a less aggressive main goal for Russian-Chinese relations in his article, in which he noted that Russia and China generally seek a multipolar world order, but not specifically against the West.

At the same time, Xi Jinping focused on presenting China as a third-party mediator in Russia's war against Ukraine, whose negotiation plan ”reflects the unity of views of the world community on overcoming the Ukrainian crisis."

Putin wrote that Russia welcomed China's willingness to "play a constructive role in resolving the crisis" over the war against Ukraine, likely hoping that Xi would take a similarly aggressive rhetorical line against the West.

"Xi’s refusal to explicitly align China with Russia in Putin’s envisioned geopolitical conflict with the West is a notable departure from China’s declared “no limits partnership” with Russia preceding the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine," the ISW emphasizes.

According to the experts, Xi’s rhetoric suggests that he is not inclined to fully give Russia the economic and political support that Russia needs to reverse setbacks in Ukraine."

The Institute for the Study of War adds that Putin and Xi offered somewhat similar visions for increased Chinese-Russian economic partnership, and it is likely that the two will sign bilateral trade and economic agreements during Xi’s visit, some of which will likely aim to facilitate schemes for sanctions evasion.

"Xi will also likely offer a more concrete proposal for a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine, although it remains unclear what his proposal will entail and how receptive the Kremlin will be to it. The prospects of China supplying Russia with military equipment also remain unclear," the analysts concluded.

• On Monday, March 20, Chinese leader Xi Jinping had an informal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. It lasted 4.5 hours. The official meeting will take place on March 21

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggests that the Chinese leader's visit to Moscow indicates China's intention to provide "diplomatic cover" for "atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine" instead of condemning them.

• Earlier, the White House said it was closely monitoring Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow and urged him to hold a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.