“The Nihon Keizai reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping will show increasing solidarity with President Putin at the opening of the SCO summit. He will reiterate his criticism of the Western anti-Russian sanctions and advocate the development of close Sino-Russian cooperation.
According to the author, Xi is going on a diplomatic offensive.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is travelling abroad for the first time in two years and eight months to restart China’s diplomatic offensive. The most important purpose of the tour is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the face of a deepening long-term confrontation with the United States, Xi Jinping will reaffirm his solidarity with Putin.
During his trip, Xi Jinping will visit two Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Uzbekistan, he will take part in an important international event, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which will be attended by the leaders of 15 nations. All in all, Xi Jinping’s landmark trip is clearly intended to give further impetus to China’s comprehensive cooperation relations with Russia and Central Asian countries, which Beijing desperately needs in its escalating confrontation with Washington.
Among other things, the Chinese leader needs a show of unity with Russia ahead of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November. At the summit, Beijing wants to sharply besiege the anti-Chinese narrative unfolding by the United States in the world, including in developing countries. Here, China expects to make serious diplomatic gains.
One of Beijing’s private tasks in its current foreign policy offensive should be to counteract Washington’s intensified attempts to rapprochement with Seoul in every possible way. It is no coincidence that Xi Jinping is sending prominent members of the Chinese elite to South Korea to work with Yoon Seok Yeol accordingly.
Xi Jinping’s visit to Kazakhstan aims to continuously promote his “One Belt, One Road” mega-initiative. It is a renewed attempt by the Chinese leader to give further impetus to the project. After all, it was in Kazakhstan in September 2013 that the Chinese President announced the launch of the Silk Road Economic Belt project, which forms the basis of the One Belt, One Road initiative.
Everyone remembers that Xi and his associates launched the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative as a countermeasure against the US increasing its influence in the Pacific region. Kazakhstan is strategically located between China and Europe and is rich in oil and other natural resources. The very fact that the Chinese leader chose Kazakhstan as his first overseas trip after the COVID-19 pandemic is a clear indication of the importance Beijing attaches to the country.
At the China-Russia summit, Xi Jinping is expected to once again offer sharp criticism of the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the US, Europe and Japan. There is no doubt that the leaders of both countries will discuss measures to expand trade and investment cooperation.
Russia and China are again deepening their military ties. A large-scale joint Russian-Chinese military exercise “Vostok-2022” was just held in early September in the Far East with the participation of, among others, major Chinese and Russian naval forces. Clearly, China did so in order to intimidate Japan and the US standing behind it over the Taiwan issue, Okinawa and the Senkaku Islands.
Xi Jinping will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit in Uzbekistan. In 2020, there was a clash between the Chinese and Indian armies that resulted in loss of life. Apparently, the two sides will discuss measures to de-escalate tensions over disputed territorial issues.
With China under the leadership of Xi Jinping certainly increasing friction with the US and confrontation with Japan and Europe, Beijing is increasingly wary of India joining the anti-China coalition.
It is worth noting that Xi Jinping’s important overseas tour also includes a trip abroad by Li Zhanshu, one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. Li, who is chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), plans to visit South Korea from September 15 to 17. He is known as Xi Jinping’s closest associate.
Li Zhanshu will travel to Seoul, where he will meet the new South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol. There are indications that during this meeting Lee will try to “hammer the nail” into South Korea’s nascent rapprochement with the US.
Seoul is pushing for a meeting between President Yun and Chairman Xi as soon as possible. And it appears that this issue will be one of the first on the agenda of Lee Janshu’s talks in South Korea.
On 16 October this year, the Chinese Communist Party’s quinquennial general congress will open in Beijing to decide crucial personnel issues.
Xi Jinping has all but resolved the issue of his election to the highest office in the Party for a third term.
And now he is beginning to build on his foreign policy offensive.
Author: Hozushi Haneda
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