South East Asia

Don’t help Russia’s invasion, Biden tells China’s Xi in video call

Face to face by video, President Joe Biden laid out to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday the stiff consequences the Chinese would face from the U.S. if they provide military or economic assistance for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There was no indication he got any assurance in return. In …

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Xi and Biden Talk Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden will urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to avoid helping Russia in its war in Ukraine when the two men speak in a phone call later today. The U.S. message to China before today’s call has been one of caution. News reports citing U.S. officials earlier this …

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Ukraine War: China Faces a Putin Conundrum It Helped Create

Any way you look at China’s relations with Russia, any way you dissect every nuance of Chinese policy – to the limited extent there is such a policy – makes clear that in Beijing, Vladimir Putin has transitioned from an asset to a liability. All it took was an unsuccessful …

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Xi Jinping’s Faltering Foreign Policy

Regardless of whether Beijing had advance warning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s decision to issue a statement last month outlining a “no limits” partnership with Moscow was arguably the single biggest foreign policy blunder of his nearly ten years in power. Russian President Vladimir Putin will …

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US warns Chinese on support for Russia in Ukraine war

Face to face, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser warned a top Chinese official on Monday about China’s support for Russia in the Ukrainian invasion, even as the Kremlin denied reports it had requested Chinese military equipment to use in the war. U.S. adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign …

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A War-Weakened Russia Has No Strategic Value to China

Scarcely more than a week ago, Chinese social media and the country’s internet were ablaze with quick takes from both prominent commentators and ordinary folks praising Russian President Vladimir Putin’s armed bid to subdue Ukraine, as well as with fervent celebrations of what many in China saw as a toothless …

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Popular Chinese Pundit Sima Nan: The West’s “Fancy Tricks” Against Russia In Ukraine May Eventually Be Used In Taiwan Against China; Foreign Volunteers Might Just Be NATO Soldiers Fighting As “Mercenaries”

On March 1, 2022, popular Chinese pundit and journalist Sima Nan published a video titled “Looking at Ukraine, Thinking about Taiwan” to the Chinese short video platform Kuaishou. In the video, he said that the “fancy tricks” being used by NATO and the West against Russia in Ukraine may be …

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A War-Weakened Russia Has No Strategic Value to China

Scarcely more than a week ago, Chinese social media and the country’s internet were ablaze with quick takes from both prominent commentators and ordinary folks praising Russian President Vladimir Putin’s armed bid to subdue Ukraine, as well as with fervent celebrations of what many in China saw as a toothless …

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China Must Choose Between Two Bad Options on Putin’s War

In recent weeks, there has been much speculation about the depth of China and Russia’s strategic alignment. Since early February, when the two sides released a joint statement during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, the argument that Moscow and Beijing …

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The China-Russia Condominium In Kazakhstan

In early January 2022, Kazakhstan experienced its worst riots in recent history. Many observers argued that the riots could undermine Chinese interests in this resource-rich country. But the situation is far more complex. Over the past decade, China has emerged as an important economic player in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. …

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