Xi Risks Leaving China Isolated by Backing Putin to Counter U.S.
(Bloomberg) -- Xi Jinping bet that establishing a no limits friendship with Vladimir Putin could prevent the U.S. from containing China. Now that agreement threatens to leave Beijing more isolated and alone.
A phone call between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday appeared to achieve no major breakthroughs. The U.S. continued to threaten unspecified consequences if China provides support to Russia, and Beijing insisted it was supporting peace talks while blaming the U.S. for triggering the conflict.
That dynamic so far appears to be pushing more countries to the U.S. camp, with the European Union set to reinforce the American warning to Beijing at a virtual summit planned for April 1. China, meanwhile, is struggling to convince the world its a neutral player, as assurances to international audiences are undermined by messages at home affirming the China-Russia partnership.
The Communist Partys reluctance to abandon Russia contains several key risks both for China and Xi personally. In the near term, it could hurt Beijings relations with key trading partners when it still needs investment and key technologies to meet its development goals. Perhaps more significantly, it could heap pressure on Xi and the Communist Party if the war ends up backfiring on Putin.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/xi-risks-leaving-china-isolated-by-backing-putin-to-counter-us/ar-AAVjv1I