Mobilized Russian troops will die for Beijing’s interests as Putin sells Russia to China

Putin has received supplies and economic support from China in order to avoid losing the battle soon, The Insight News analysts state. China, on the other hand, is not being charitable.Despite Beijing officially declaring its neutrality and calls for peace, its policy is astute. Xi Jinping has taken advantage of Putin's risky position to gain geopolitical and strategic-historical advantages from his reckless war.

And China will take Russia's most valuable asset: vast eastern regions and their resources. It is currently being determined in Russia's war against Ukraine which part of the Russian Federation will survive in future Russia – solely its European portion up to the Urals? Or will the federal subjects be divided into separate republics?

In this case, China will seize control of such entities in eastern Russia. But unlike Kremlin-backed Donbas proxy republics, this time the republics will be real because the regions of the Russian Federation truly want to separate from Moscow, utilize their natural resources for development rather than enriching Gazprom executives, and not send their soldiers to die for Putin's insane ideas.

China-Russia relationship during Russia’s war as seen by the artist

The modern Russian state will be de-imperialized, decolonized, demilitarized, and denuclearized as part of the post-Russia reconstruction. The ultimate goal is to bring down the empire, which is currently waging the war against Ukraine.

According to Anna Fotyga, a Polish member of the European Parliament, dissolving the Russian Federation is far less dangerous than leaving it ruled by criminals.

Furthermore, friendly China is close by and will use its military forces to assist in ensuring security in eastern Russian regions during the forthcoming turmoil. As a result, mobilized Russians will die in Ukraine for China's sake. Beijing will gain large territory liberated from Russia's mobilized male population in exchange for supporting Putin's military agenda.

What is Putin's motivation for selling Russia to China?

Shortly before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing for the Winter Olympics to declare his unwavering friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Today, however, it is clear who the major power in this pair is. China's economy is $18 trillion, which is 10 times more than Russia's.

As Russia is experiencing a rapid economic decline as a result of European sanctions and an oil embargo, China is Putin's only potential lifeline.

Russia was a geopolitical loser in 2022 as a result of Putin's failed war against Ukraine. Russia's invasion of Ukraine stripped the Kremlin of almost all of its allies, forcing it to agree to rely on Xi Jinping.

One of the most renowned historians and researchers of Eastern Europe, Timothy Snyder, said in an interview he thinks Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will enter history as the man who sold Russia to China.

“I think Vladimir Putin will be remembered as an oligarch among other oligarchs, as the man who sold his country to China. As the president who buried Russia’s chances of becoming a normal country,” Snyder said.

After a year of Russian aggression against Ukraine, expectations that Beijing would use its leverage with Moscow to play a constructive role in bringing the war to an end have yet to materialize. China views the Russian-Ukrainian war solely through the lens of its conflict with the United States. Beijing is ready to capitalize on its support for Putin's absurd actions.

Russia is looking for new markets now more than ever. In any case, China is Russia's primary sales market for energy resources. Where might Moscow sell the gas that was previously sold to Europe?

The New York Times describes Xi and Putin as two leaders who “find themselves in a weak position, burdened by geopolitical and economic threats. “Both have little room to maneuver, making their relationship even more important, though much more complicated.”

The FT writes that China “now understands the likelihood that Russia will not succeed in defeating Ukraine” and that Russia will emerge from the war as a “secondary power”, which, according to Chinese officials, has weakened considerably economically and diplomatically on the world stage. 

On February 23, Vladimir Putin confirmed in his meeting with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would soon travel to Moscow. It is thought this might happen in the coming months.

In a way, the Kremlin is doing China's dirty work, BBC says. It is draining Western military resources and putting pressure on NATO and if Russia's economy tanks because of it, does that really matter to Beijing? It will just need more Chinese products for the recovery afterwards.

“Russia does not appear able to win and, increasingly, China is being seen standing side by side with a bully who forced a bloody, prolonged war on Europe,” BBC points out. 

In this situation, the Chinese government sees a great opportunity to exploit a weakened Russian state and capture rich natural resources and territories.

China is playing its own geopolitical and economic game

China is supplying Russia with arms components, according to NBC News. These may be weapons samples, which are disassembled into repair kits.

Bloomberg and CNN reported in January that the Biden administration had confronted Chinese government officials with evidence suggesting that Chinese companies had been providing nonlethal support to Russia in the war. Now U.S. officials say the assistance is coming from the Chinese government itself.

With China's backing against the backdrop of the West's most serious confrontation since the Cold War, Putin can portray Russia's isolation by European countries as a turn toward Asia.

However, the partnership has a limitation: China is wary of providing direct material support to Russia for fear of triggering secondary sanctions from the West.

Since Soviet geologists discovered oil and gas in the swamps of Siberia decades after World War II, selling oil and gas to Europe has been one of Russia's primary sources of foreign exchange earnings.

Putin is now selling more energy to China, the world's largest energy consumer. Russia's largest oil buyer is China. China's purchases of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, coal, and electricity have increased.

Xi shares Putin's hostility toward the West and NATO, but that doesn't mean he'll want to volunteer. Xi is more concerned with China's prosperity and security than with Russia's salvation.

Beijing will purchase some of the oil that was destined for Europe, but at a significant discount. China will only assist Russia to the extent that it does not impose sanctions on it and does not jeopardize its trade relations with the United States and the European Union.

Yet, this seemingly "borderless" relationship has significant limitations. For the time being, China assures Western nations that it does not sell Russian weapons or aircraft parts. 

Even more concerning for the Russians is the fact that China has raised the cost of its aid. And Beijing demands territories.

What does it mean for Russians?

It is now up to Russians to decide what will remain of Russia following the collapse of the state or China's de facto annexation of some territories. The sooner Russians end their pointless and self-destructive war against Ukraine, the more men the country will have to rebuild in the post-Putin era.

Moscow's fate, as well as China's aggressive attitude toward Russian territory, must concern pro-Kremlin speakers, media analysts, and Western politicians. Now  Many far-right and far-left political figures in Europe can finance their activities thanks to the Kremlin.

As Russia's funds for disinformation campaigns abroad dwindle, the lives of "agents of influence" will become more difficult. Already, some of them are turning to pro-China from pro-Moscow rhetoric, noticing the geopolitical shift.

However, in France, Germany, and Italy, they should consider the interests of a united Europe rather than those of foreign geopolitical powers.