Xi Jinping benifits from keeping Belarus as agent of influence in Europe: Portnikov on Lukashenko's visit to China

He expressed his opinion on Espreso TV. 

“Lukashenko is the self-proclaimed president of the country through which Chinese products are transited to Europe. China does not have many countries that it can rely on in Europe. I will say more, there are almost none, precisely those countries that do not comply with EU standards. And Xi Jinping may be concerned that this transit window is closing, because every day the EU countries are closing more and more crossings with Belarus, which is absolutely not in China's interests. Perhaps Beijing is planning to talk to Lukashenko about his future intentions, what he is going to do about the war in Ukraine and the economic situation,” the journalist commented.

According to Vitaliy Portnikov, Xi Jinping is not interested in Belarus remaining a springboard for Russian aggression, but China is interested in the aggression itself continuing, exhausting Ukraine and the West.

“Lukashenko's independent ties with Xi Jinping are important to him because he can come to China himself, which is a sovereignty. Lukashenko has always tried to maneuver between the West and Russia, even after he was implicated in a number of disappearances of Belarusian opposition politicians. The West doesn't want to see or hear Lukashenko, so he doesn't have much room for maneuver. But there is China, which is objectively interested in several things: first, in weakening the West, and second, in preventing Russia from becoming strong enough to dictate terms to the civilized world and China itself. Beijing is interested in the former Soviet republics that do not orient toward the West retaining their sovereignty but orienting themselves toward China. This may also be the case, i.e., if Putin decides to turn Belarus into a springboard for an offensive against Ukraine, Xi Jinping may want to keep Belarus as an agent of his own influence in Europe,” Portnikov said.

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