Posted on 01/10/2023 10:33:46 AM PST by marcusmaximus
-snip-
While Xi and Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, pledged last month to deepen bilateral ties, several Chinese officials in private conversations with the Financial Times strove to put clear daylight between Beijing and Moscow on the issue of Ukraine — a message that has been repeated to some European diplomats.
Some are scathing. “Putin is crazy,” says one Chinese official, who declined to be identified. “The invasion decision was made by a very small group of people. China shouldn’t simply follow Russia.”
The starting point for Xi’s diplomatic reset is a re-evaluation in Beijing about the benefits of its close relationship with Moscow.
China now perceives a likelihood that Russia will fail to prevail against Ukraine and emerge from the conflict a “minor power”, much diminished economically and diplomatically on the world stage, according to Chinese officials.
In addition, for all the public professions of bilateral amity, in private some Chinese officials express at least a measure of mistrust towards Putin himself.
Five senior Chinese officials with knowledge of the issue have told the FT at different times over the past nine months that Moscow did not inform Beijing of its intention to launch a full invasion of Ukraine before Putin ordered the attack.
-snip-
Evidence to support failures of Chinese understanding, according to Chinese officials, has been the demotion in June of Le Yucheng, who at the time of the invasion was a vice-minister of foreign affairs and the ministry’s top Russia expert. Le had been widely spoken of in Chinese official circles as the likely next foreign minister. He now occupies a post as deputy head of the National Radio Television Administration.
“Le was demoted by two levels of seniority,” said one person familiar with the issue. “He was held responsible for the intelligence failure on Russia’s invasion.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
Russia at least has some sense of realism. People are afraid to tell Xi Jinping things he doesn’t want to hear, because he doesn’t take it well.
It’s true that Putin did not inform China, but many officials knew what was going on they were just afraid to tell their leader..
How is invading Taiwan going to help China? They are the largest importer of energy and food in the world. Taiwan is not going to help with that. Could China even operate their semiconductor Fabs if they took them over?
“Five senior Chinese officials with knowledge of the issue have told the FT at different times over the past nine months that Moscow did not inform Beijing of its intention to launch a full invasion of Ukraine before Putin ordered the attack.”
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This is total bs, Putin was in direct contact with Chinese officials just prior to the military intervention, the FT just plays the establishment line. The only thing China didn’t expect (and possibly Putin didn’t anticipate) was that NATO would go all out in using all their resources in fighting Russia, both militarily and economically. The Chinese aren’t stupid, they know the goal is to either weaken or defeat Russia so the US can then turn their attention to begin challenging China’s increasing economic hegemony of world trade.
Why should China have to “fight” to gain Taiwan when they are poised to simply get it peacefully as time moves on?
The Western view that we have to fight now or soon goes against their long game strategy.
And the West is already proving how insincere they are.
Just in the past two years, the Chinese released a virus on the globe that killed millions, but we dare not call it Chinese or Wuhan flu.
That would be raciss...
And that kind of thinking is why we lost and will continue to lose without firing a shot.
“How is invading Taiwan going to help China? “
Face.
Are you trying to say that FT lies for the first time?
Look at the appointments in the Chinese foreign policy block. All the Western apologists gone.
This drivel is the opposite of reality.
I am shocked to see you make an anti-Russian post?
I am shocked to see you make an anti-Russian post?
Two collapsing societies going down together. Hallelujah.
What is anti-Russia?
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