As a side note: there is speculation that China may be approaching a change of leader due to Xi experiencing health issues (not a change of leadership in the wider sense - the collegial system of the CCP is considered to be functioning).
Thus, it may be impossible for the Chinese foreign minister to be fully confident of what China’s policy will be in the future.
Obviously, China views it as unacceptable for Russia (its ally and soon enough, practically its vassal) to all-out lose. (The easiest way to not lose, of course, is not starting a war, but that train is long gone and behind the hills.)
Prolonging the war does not eliminate this risk well, however - exhaustion could spread in Russian society and morale could collapse despite the state spewing its propaganda, or the economy could collapse. So, simply propping up Russia by letting them buy the goods they shouldn’t be getting is not a very elegant solution. Direct interference on behalf of Russia would lead to open hostility with the EU, which is currently ambivalent about China.
What remains is nudging Russia to negotiate. But Putin is hard-headed and only willing to negotiate Ukraine’s surrender, on terms which Ukrainians will laugh out of the door.
As for the US being able to focus on China, well I guess they’re a bit concerned about it, but given the mental and organizational capability of the current US leadership, I don’t think Chinese analysts are particularly worried.
I only see news relating to General Zhang Youxia and replacing Xi Jinping with Wang-Yi in Indian news sites, is this related to their recent renewed support for the Dalai Lama out of the blue?
Chinese foreign policy regarding Russia is unlikely to change under a new leader. Supporting Russia‘s war by continued trade while publicly calling for a diplomatic solution is a very comfortable position. They weaken the West while making Russia more dependent on them. All of that while getting financial advantages from importing cheap energy from Russia and exporting goods.
The posturing regarding Taiwan could change in tone, but fundamentally China‘s goals and interests are unchanged.
Things are going pretty well for China on many levels.
As a side note: there is speculation that China may be approaching a change of leader due to Xi experiencing health issues (not a change of leadership in the wider sense - the collegial system of the CCP is considered to be functioning).
Thus, it may be impossible for the Chinese foreign minister to be fully confident of what China’s policy will be in the future.
Obviously, China views it as unacceptable for Russia (its ally and soon enough, practically its vassal) to all-out lose. (The easiest way to not lose, of course, is not starting a war, but that train is long gone and behind the hills.)
Prolonging the war does not eliminate this risk well, however - exhaustion could spread in Russian society and morale could collapse despite the state spewing its propaganda, or the economy could collapse. So, simply propping up Russia by letting them buy the goods they shouldn’t be getting is not a very elegant solution. Direct interference on behalf of Russia would lead to open hostility with the EU, which is currently ambivalent about China.
What remains is nudging Russia to negotiate. But Putin is hard-headed and only willing to negotiate Ukraine’s surrender, on terms which Ukrainians will laugh out of the door.
As for the US being able to focus on China, well I guess they’re a bit concerned about it, but given the mental and organizational capability of the current US leadership, I don’t think Chinese analysts are particularly worried.
I only see news relating to General Zhang Youxia and replacing Xi Jinping with Wang-Yi in Indian news sites, is this related to their recent renewed support for the Dalai Lama out of the blue?
Chinese foreign policy regarding Russia is unlikely to change under a new leader. Supporting Russia‘s war by continued trade while publicly calling for a diplomatic solution is a very comfortable position. They weaken the West while making Russia more dependent on them. All of that while getting financial advantages from importing cheap energy from Russia and exporting goods.
The posturing regarding Taiwan could change in tone, but fundamentally China‘s goals and interests are unchanged.
Things are going pretty well for China on many levels.