Why Putin looks like a hopeless idiot to Xi

1. First and foremost: Russia is now completely subservient to China. That's it, the myth about the "great state", the "revival of the empire" is now debunked. Culturally, Russia can be seen as a "junior partner". For external observers, Russia is now a "cheap Chinese gas station" instead of a "gas station of the West". Well, some Russians (those who are still able to assess the situation), feel like they have been sold into slavery.

2. Russia not only formally agreed, but actually accepted the role of "junior partner"/problematic temporary property of China: the Russian Federation agreed to the transfer of large equipment, including with other states, in yuan.

3. There were no final agreements, commitments, contracts: Xi's long-term reflections on the further relations development up to space cooperation are nothing. Not supported by any document. And not even a single concrete promise was publicly made - "Comrade Xi sincerely promised to continue to promise." That is, for the general public it seems that Putin handed over Russia to China for nothing.

4. There were some behind-the-scenes personal agreements: not for Russia, but for Putin personally. And for that, Putin was squeezed to the maximum. The degree of his disappointment is visible from his face, and he does not hide his mood.

There were some behind-the-scenes personal agreements: not for Russia, but for Putin personally. And for that, Putin was squeezed to the maximum. The degree of his disappointment is visible from his face, and he does not hide his mood

5. Regarding the war, conclusions can only be drawn from the absence of statements, except for Putin’s approval of Xi’s peace plan (including the point of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine - which immediately means de-occupation as the basis of peace agreements; and once again: Putin publicly praised it!) It seems that Xi did win over Putin, if he would agree to peace talks in the near future the condition that he would at least withdraw to the of 24.02.22 positions (perhaps without waiting for a massive counteroffensive of Ukraine’s Armed Forces - today's news of the Nova Kakhovka abandonment may illustrate this). Because, in general, a war that exhausts Russia and distracts the USA is beneficial to China, but the benefits are running out, it's time to pack. Xi will squeeze out the remaining benefits for China while Putin closes the issue of war through complex and difficult negotiations.

It all looked like a total humiliation for Russia and Putin loudly advertised by the Kremlin. The Chinese press did not mark the visit as a "state visit" (but only ordinary, average, without expecting any serious results) - and that's exactly how it went. Putin received nothing but orders to end this disgrace and adapt to China's demands, rules and benefits

In general, it all looked like a total humiliation for Russia and Putin loudly advertised by the Kremlin. The Chinese press did not mark the visit as a "state visit" (but only ordinary, average, without expecting any serious results) - and that's exactly how it went. Putin received nothing but orders to end this disgrace and adapt to China's demands, rules and benefits.

Russia, in fact, received a subordinate status in relation to the state which itself was not among the main international players.

Putin looks like a hopeless idiot for Xi. For us and for NATO, Putin is obviously an idiot because, despite all his pragmatic behavior, he still started this war, risked an attack. That was the beginning of the end. For Xi, Putin looks like an idiot because he didn't use any of the many chances to quietly get out of a wildly unfavorable situation with the statement "Russia won" (like China and Vietnam 1979: China crawled back, both sides declared victory for domestic audiences, China blocked huge expenses at the price of a quick retreat and a proper propaganda campaign for the Chinese).

Putin had many reasons to end the campaign during the year. There are still opportunities to hammer into the heads of Russians the version "Russia has won, we have achieved everything we wanted." Russia's losses on the economic, social front, in geopolitics are astronomical and long-lasting, if not final and lethal. And at the same time, Putin continues to stubbornly climb the cactus without any detailed plan or specific objectives for the next 20 years.

Xi and China as a whole cannot understand this, for them it is absurd. That is why they sincerely despise Putin as an ill-conceived loser - which they have demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate. And we will carefully monitor this.

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About the author. Oleksiy Holobutsky, political scientist

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.