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Journalism of Courage
After US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation earlier this week, Europe has reacted with alarm and a degree of disbelief. Leaders from various countries have publicly stated that the US cannot hammer out a peace deal directly with Putin without including its European allies. But what about Russia’s great ally? How is China reacting to this development, and where do Beijing’s interests lie in this rapidly changing situation?
The official reaction
Officially, the Chinese foreign ministry has welcomed the initiative, saying Beijing is pleased to see Russia and the US enhance communication and dialogue.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Gao Jiakun said earlier this week, “Russia and the United States are both influential countries. China is happy to see Russia and the United States strengthen communication on a series of international issues.” Referring to the Ukrainian crisis, he added, “China supports all efforts conducive to a peaceful resolution of the crisis.”
But scholars in China are alarmed by Trump’s rush to end the war in Ukraine, which they see as going against “the successive US administrations’ hegemonic policy of ‘forever war’”. Many in China believe that with his overtures to Putin, Trump is attempting to “break” the Russia-China strategic partnership.
It is not known yet whether Beijing was taken into confidence by its “dear friend” Putin before the Trump phone call. However, interestingly, while the USA’s allies have openly criticised Trump, no one in China has publicly expressed unhappiness with the Kremlin. Instead, the Chinese media is focused on overplaying Europe’s unhappiness.
What the Chinese media is saying
A day after welcoming the Trump-Putin joint initiative, a signed Xinhua commentary in the English language official China Daily highlighted the European demand for a role in Ukraine peace talks. “Several European leaders have insisted on playing a key role in potential Ukraine peace negotiations, voicing concerns about being sidelined after Trump and Putin held a phone talk on Wednesday,” the China Daily reported.
Citing Paula Pinho, chief spokesperson of the European Commission, the official Chinese media outlet said, “Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security. If there is a discussion about Ukraine’s security, Europe is concerned. If there is a discussion about Europe’s security, it also involves Ukraine.”
It is pertinent to note that the China Daily commentary ended by emphasising, “As Europe grapples with Trump’s evolving stance on the war, the debate over the continent’s role in shaping peace continues to intensify.”
Many link China prominently highlighting the European demand with Beijing’s own eagerness to be a part of any future peace talks on the Ukraine crisis.
While the West has always maintained it wants to end the war in Ukraine because of concerns for Europe’s security, safety and security of Ukrainians, safeguarding the sovereignty of Ukraine, and to stem the possibility of a wider conflict, scholars in China are debating what exactly are Trump’s reasons, and two broad answers have emerged.
First, although Trump’s foreign policy approach is consistent with that of the US political elite — “Europe first, Asia later” — and the current administration would be happy to see Russia lose the war, the Biden administration completely misjudged the war and its outcome. Russia did suffer heavy losses, but so did the West. Trump now wants to stem this slide, and “look smart as well as wise.”
Second, a Chinese commentator has used the idiom “when the snipe and clam quarrel, the fisherman gains” in order to explain the huge strategic advantage China has been enjoying as the war continues. It [China] has not only gained a great opportunity to strengthen Sino-Russian relations, but also reaped economic benefits. On the other hand, the US and its European allies have been overburdened over the past three years. “Such a situation is in no way conducive to the United States’ ‘strategic competition’ with China and it must be changed,” the Chinese scholar pointed out.
In summary
In the opinion of Chinese scholars, Trump’s strategy is a return to Henry Kissinger’s doctrine of keeping China and Russia (the erstwhile Soviet Union) away from or against one another, and that “Washington cannot simultaneously be hostile to Russia and China”.
They have been widely quoting Alexei Pushkov, Putin’s advisor and head of the Federation Council Commission on information policy, to support this theory. Ridiculing Trump’s comment that he favours Russia’s return to the Group of Seven, Pushkov said on his Telegram channel last Thursday, “By returning Russia to G-8, the President of the United States expects to weaken Russia’s partnership with China.”
Echoing the sentiment, a well-known Chinese social media blogger wrote: “The deepening of the Sino-Russian strategic alliance is indeed a strategic nightmare for the United States and the West. Trump is very clear about this. He has repeatedly accused the Biden administration of foolishly squeezing China and Russia together and has vowed to break up the Sino-Russian alliance.”
Hemant Adlakha teaches Chinese at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He is also Vice Chairperson and an Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), Delhi.
