By Ray McGovern
September 21, 2022:
Information Clearing House
-- "
Anti War"
In the official Chinese and Russian
statements regarding Thursday’s meeting between
Presidents XI Jinping and Vladimir Putin in
Samarkand lies not a scintilla of evidence that
China’s support for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
has weakened.
In my view, if Putin decides to up the ante
in Ukraine, XI would be likely to support him.
Most analysts of China doubt that this would
extend to China’s stirring up trouble in the
South China Sea or opposite Taiwan, but most
Chinese analysts did not expect China to
tolerate, much less endorse, Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine. So your guess is as good as mine.
Underneath the ‘Dear Friend’ professions of
solidarity lies a concrete-reinforced
commitment, so to speak, indeed a China-Russia
entente that bespeaks an intention to coordinate
closely – including before any major military
initiatives against the U.S. or its proxies.
Some of the mutual statements of solidarity
may sound boilerplate, but it is important to
remember that the boilerplate has acquired
additional steel reinforcement, so to speak, in
the crucible of this year 2022. Each country has
pledged strong support for the other’s "core
interests" – for Russia, re. Ukraine; for China,
re. Taiwan.
The "core interest" mutual support was given
prominence in the
official Chinese readout of the Putin-Xi
conversation:
"President XI emphasized that China will
work with Russia to extend strong mutual support
on issues concerning each other’s core
interests….
"President Putin noted that the world is
undergoing multiple changes, yet the only thing
that remains unchanged is the friendship and
mutual trust between Russia and China.
"The Russia-China comprehensive strategic
partnership of coordination is as stable as
mountains. … The Russian side is firmly
committed to the one-China principle and
condemns provocative moves by individual
countries on issues concerning China’s core
interests. Russia will consolidate and deepen
bilateral and multilateral communication and
collaboration with China and expand cooperation
in key areas such as trade and energy."
In his remarks, Putin emphasized the "key
role" played by "the foreign policy tandem of
Moscow and Beijing" in ensuring global and
regional stability and took another potshot at
the undefined "rules-based" order promoted by
Washington. He also expressed appreciation for
"our Chinese friends’ balanced position in
connection with the Ukraine crisis."
Putin also fleshed out the progress in
Russia’s trade with China:
"Last year, trade grew by 35 percent to
over $140 billion. In the first seven months of
this year, our trade increased by another 25
percent. I am convinced that by the end of the
year we will reach new record high levels, and
in the near term, as agreed, we will bring our
annual trade to $200 billion or more."
On a personal note, in the early 60s when I
was responsible for analyzing Sino-Soviet
relations, mutual trade amounted to $200
million. Granted: bilateral relations back then
were in the pits. But still, $200 million to
$200 billion is something we never imagined in
our wildest dreams.
The Chinese and Russians can thank the
reckless-feckless team of Secretary of State
Antony Blinken and national security adviser
Jake Sullivan, as well as their immediate
predecessors for helping that increase to be as
large as it it.
Finally, right after the Xi-Putin meeting
yesterday,
ABC’s Martha Raddatz read the following words of
wisdom into the TV camera:
"Given what has happened in Ukraine, with
Russia losing territory and its forces exposed
as weak and hapless, even if Russia gets nothing
[from XI], the meeting will signal an
anti-Western bond which is significant – it IS
significant."
I believe Martha got that last part right. We
shall have to wait and see how this all plays
out regarding Ukraine and Taiwan.
Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a
publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the
Saviour in inner-city Washington. His 27-year
career as a CIA analyst includes serving as
Chief of the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch and
preparer/briefer of the President’s Daily Brief.
He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence
Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).
Views expressed in this article are
solely those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
in this article are
solely those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Reader financed- No
Advertising - No Government Grants -
No Algorithm - This
Is Independent
