Chinese President Xi Jinping castigated, Wednesday, June 22, “widening military alliances”responsible according to him for the crisis in Ukraine, “a wake-up call for the world”. The Chinese leader made these remarks by videoconference at the opening of the Economic Forum of the “Brics” (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), which is being held in Beijing until Friday, June 24, and in which also participated virtually Russian President Vladimir Putin (1).
This thinly veiled verbal support from China to its ” old friend “ Putin confirms his position with regard to Russia, which last month became China’s leading energy supplier.
Russia, first supplier ahead of Saudi Arabia
China significantly increased its imports of Russian oil in May, according to official figures published this week, thus helping Moscow to counterbalance the disaffection of its Western customers amid the war in Ukraine. An increase so significant that Russia became, last month, the first supplier of the Asian giant, ahead of Saudi Arabia. Faced with the broad boycott of Russian products and the multitude of departures of foreign firms from Russia, Moscow can count on Chinese power to escape total economic isolation.
“Chinese support for Russia is clear, but it is only partial, assures Benoît Hardy-Chartrand, associate professor at Temple University in Tokyo, specialist in North Asia. Admittedly, since President Xi came to power in 2012, Putin and the Chinese leader have met more than thirty times.
At the beginning of February, before the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, they proclaimed “boundless friendship” between China and Russia and signed many agreements, particularly in the field of gas and oil. A strengthening of the ties between the two countries which has just materialized.
No military or financial support
“In reality, China is not happy with the Russian invasion, tempers Benoît Hardy-Chartrand. First, because of the instability it causes, but also because the invasion goes against principles that are sacrosanct for Beijing: territorial integrity and respect for sovereignty. But it calculates that preserving its strategic partnership with Russia is more important than respecting these principles. »
Beyond these considerable energy contracts, which are also a boon for China, which buys Russian oil and gas 10 to 20% cheaper, Chinese support is limited to grand speeches. “There is no military support and no evidence of financial support either,” adds the university.
“China would have preferred a very quick Russian victory in Ukraine, but its support is not absolute,” explains Robert Dujarric, co-director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo. “Before doing business with Russia, Chinese companies think about it because they are afraid of being blacklisted by the United States, the European Union or Japan, he analyzes. Clearly not worth it. »
In his eyes, in an increasingly tense Asian context, “Being seen as Putin’s friend is not good for China. This reinforces the Japanese-American argument on the need to protect Taiwan”. Thus, the longer the Ukrainian conflict lasts, the more the specter of an invasion of Taiwan by China recedes.