Xi-Putin Talks in Moscow: The West Misunderstands China’s Intentions

Presidents Xi and Putin held extensive meetings in Moscow March 20-22, as fresh supplies of weapons and ammunition from the West were pouring into Ukraine, and the Biden Administration had just announced $1 billion more in military aid, adding to the total of $33 bn. already made available to Kyiv. At the same time, from London, the Ministry of Defence made known that its Challenger 2 tanks that are being prepared for transfer to Ukraine will be armed with depleted uranium shells – despite the warnings.

Of course, the war in Ukraine was a major topic of the talks between the Chinese and Russians, but not the only one. Technological and industrial cooperation, energy security, increased trade relations, and new monetary arrangements were also high on the agenda, confirming the fears of the Western establishments, that are trying to save their banking system.

But the most pressing danger for both Russia and China is NATO’s policy. The Putin-Xi joint statement on Ukraine notes that “to settle the Ukraine crisis, the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be respected”, as well as international law. The Russian side, it says, “welcomes the constructive proposals set forth” in China’s proposal for a political settlement (cf. SAS 10,12/23).

The chairwoman of the Schiller Institute, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, stressed the importance of this plan in her weekly webcast on March 22, noting how foolish Western leaders, notably including in Brussels, were to have dismissed it out of hand. “China has not allowed itself to be drawn into the conflict”, she said, and “is making a very strong and powerful move to reintegrate Russia into the international community, and find a solution to the crisis. But China is trying to move the world to a new paradigm, to a higher level of diplomacy… and is open to economic cooperation.”

Russian news agency TASS turned to Helga Zepp-LaRouche on the same day to get her assessment of the Xi visit which, she said, led to greater “cooperation in many areas, especially the economy”. She was also quoted saying that China’s policy “does not follow geopolitical motives, but very clearly tries to establish a higher level in the interest of the entire world”, but western politicians “have difficulty to understand that because when you have geopolitical spectacles on, you see everything through that perspective”.

TASS also chose to highlight her remarks on the “powerful renaissance of the non-aligned spirit occurring right now,” which Western establishments completely underestimate. “’The countries of the Global South are determined to end colonialism for good in its new cloth, and they do not want to be drawn into a geopolitical conflict between the U.S. and Russia, or between the U.S. and China, with whom many of them have very beneficial economic ties’, she underscored.”

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