Stumbling in the Ukraine war poses problems for Vladimir Putin.
In Russia's weakness, China now sees its own chance to rise to the top of the world.
Munich/Beijing – China has its sights firmly set on world domination.
Ambitious projects such as the "New Silk Road" planned by Beijing or the claim to Taiwan are not new.
The harsh tone towards the US during the spy balloon affair over the United States also speaks volumes.
The People's Republic with ruler Xi Jinping increasingly sees itself not only as a major player in the economy, but also in world politics.
The most recent example is the "Friends Plan" in the Ukraine war, which was presented at the Munich Security Conference by top foreign politician Wang Yi.
But in the shadow of Russia's war against Ukraine, China now seems to sense an opportunity to turn at least part of the world order upside down.
Because Beijing seems to want to take full advantage of Vladimir Putin's weakness in order to take the final step towards becoming a world power.
Above all, experts fear an alliance between Beijing and Moscow, led by China.
Putin's weakness in the Ukraine war: China begins its rise to global power in Russia
Putin's weakness in the Ukraine war is reflected above all in the fact that Russia is largely isolated by Western sanctions.
In addition to the political impact on Moscow, the Russian economy in particular is weakening, so that Putin can no longer choose who will buy gas or oil, for example.
The line has simply become shorter, so that, alongside India, China in particular is using Russian raw materials such as oil, gas and wood at ridiculous prices.
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Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin (left) at a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing in February last year.
© Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik Government/AP/dpa
"China is benefiting significantly from Russia's war because it trades with Russia to its advantage," explains China and Russia expert Jakub Janda from the "European Values" center for security policy in Prague
at
Bild.de.
The developments and, above all, consequences of the Ukraine war are not yet foreseeable for Russia and Putin.
Russia is struggling in the Ukraine war: "Putin always threatens to become Xi Jinping's lapdog".
But the longer the war drags on and Russia continues to stumble in Ukraine, the more Putin threatens to become Xi Jinping's lapdog," says China expert Jürgen Matthes from the German Economic Institute in Cologne
on
Bild.de.
So far, according to him, Beijing's rulers have not (yet) exploited this power.
The emphasis is probably on "still".
Vladimir Putin also seems to welcome the cooperation and China's goodwill.
During a recent visit by senior Chinese foreign policy official Wang Yi, Russia's president praised the close ties between the two nations.
"International relations are complicated today," Putin said
at the start of the meeting, according to the Russian state agency
TASS .
"In this context, the cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation (...) is of particularly great importance for the stabilization of the international situation."
Alliance between China and Russia against the West: "Not easy in view of the Ukraine war"
At the meeting, Beijing's top foreign policy official was not averse to deepening cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.
According to the Russian reports, Wang Yi said China is willing to deepen both political and strategic cooperation.
Russian-Chinese relations developed stably, despite pressure from the world community.
And it is precisely against this pressure - especially from the West - that China wants to build a front together with Russia.
An undertaking that, however, is proving to be more difficult than expected due to Russia's war in Ukraine.
"However, given the war in Ukraine and the brutal Russian actions, this is not easy." Therefore, China is slipping into the role of mediator on the world stage, "so as not to get too caught up in the swamp of Russian violations of sovereignty and human rights in Ukraine to
be
drawn into it”, analyzes the China expert Jürgen Matthes at
bild.de.
China-Russia Common Front: “Sanction material support for Russian war”
Nevertheless, China will probably aim to work increasingly closely with Russia in order to finally initiate its own goals and at the same time the end of Western dominance led by the USA.
China expert Janda explains that a reaction from the West is needed.
"Western democracies should sanction China for materially supporting the Russian war," he said on Twitter.
If China provides any help to Russia in its Ukraine campaign (=murdering thousands of Ukrainians), then Europeans should start sanctioning China hard.
China knew about Russian attack plans on Ukraine.
China helps Russia as its "strategic partner".
China is an ally of Russia.
— Jakub Janda 楊雅嚳 (@_JakubJanda) March 14, 2022
Alexander Gabuev also sees more than just signs of deepening cooperation between the two countries.
"Although Moscow and Beijing are far from entering into a formal military alliance, their leaders are united in their fight against American dominance," explains the expert from the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace.
The result could be a far-reaching alliance between China and Russia, which, according to Mathes at
Bild
, could only lead to one consequence: "A new Cold War is to be feared." (mst)
List of rubrics: © Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik Government/AP/dpa
