He expressed this opinion on the Espreso TV channel.
"We need to understand that China is playing a very interesting role in Russia's war against Ukraine. First, China is a partner of the Russian Federation, despite the Putin regime's aggression against Ukraine. That is why Putin's failures in Ukraine will be a problem for Xi Jinping. On the other hand, China does not want to spoil relations with the West," Herbst explained.
The diplomat stressed that Xi Jinping does not want to undermine his ties with the West.
"China does not want to spoil relations with the United States and Europe. That's why China says they are not in favour of this war. China is not ready to send weapons to Russia. At the same time, Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow will be interpreted as support for Russia. And not only in Russia. China's peace plan also protects Russian interests in the first place. Xi Jinping is doing everything he can to help Putin, but he is also afraid of the West's reaction to this," he added.