Xi Jinping unlikely to throw Putin a lifeline amid setbacks in Ukraine

Shortly before invading Ukraine in February, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping declared a “no limits” friendship. Yet even as his forces suffer humiliating losses on the battlefield, Russia’s president shouldn’t expect much help at his first meeting with his Chinese counterpart since then.
 

Xi and Putin meet face-to-face in Uzbekistan on Thursday in their first sitdown since a Beijing meeting before the Winter Olympics that yielded a lengthy joint statement of more than 5,000 words. In it, they vowed to have “no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation” in challenging the US-led global order and pushing for a multipolar world.

Yet China appeared caught off guard when Putin invaded Ukraine a few weeks later. Officials in Beijing initially struggled to both support Russia and avoid endorsing a clear violation of sovereignty — a pretext that could be used to justify foreign intervention in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.

China’s diplomatic backing for Russia eventually solidified over the months, and strengthened further after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August. Last week, Li Zhanshu — China’s No. 3 official — visited Moscow and told Russian lawmakers that Beijing’s leaders “fully understand the necessity of all the measures taken by Russia aimed at protecting its key interests.”