Xi is the king of Eurasia, Putin his obedient subject

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Xi deeply relaxed, Putin tense: Chinese party leader Xi Jinping (69) and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin (70) have been sitting side by side in Moscow for two days.

On Tuesday afternoon, the two rulers then presented the result of their two-day meeting: the countries want to expand their trade en masse. Behind the scenes, what they both present as an intimate friendship can only be described as China’s expansion of power over Russia.

Putin prepares cooperation, Xi benefits

Brian Carlson (44), security expert at ETH Zurich, emphasizes Russia’s dependence on China in an interview with Blick: “This dependence allows China to make a number of demands of Russia – and to have them fulfilled.”

Putin announced that they wanted to build a new gas pipeline together and that a land corridor for grain had to be built. According to Putin, sales with Chinese trade have already increased by 30 percent by 2022 – and it will rise even more.

Xi benefits from cheap prices. For example, according to Reuters, China can currently buy crude oil from Russia for $2 a barrel cheaper than oil from Oman. China imported 1.66 million barrels of crude and fuel oil from Russia in January, according to business media Bloomberg — per day.

There is no mention of the fact that Russia has few other trading partners and that China is the only way to sell export goods. Nor is the fact that China is, at least politically, dependent on Russia. Carlson explains, “The Chinese leadership believes they would be isolated in the world without Russian support.” At the same time, Xi sends an important message to the West: “I am not alone.”

balancing act between demonstration of power and friendship

However, according to Carlson, Xi is careful not to overshadow Putin too much. “Xi’s trip to Moscow should show that Russia is still important to China. Because of this, China will probably be wary of using its influence on Russia.”

Sergey Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, stressed on Tuesday: “Russia and China are equal partners and almost allies.” Rumors that China would subdue Russia are “Western propaganda”.

However, one cannot deny Xi’s subtle power plays. The Guardian reports that Xi was a split second ahead of Putin when he shook his hand. This move suggests that “while Xi is the one visiting Moscow, he is the one who will take the lead in this regard.”

However, the Chinese ruler is not only pursuing economic benefits with his close pseudo-friendship with Russia. “Russia’s weakening could allow China to extend its influence into Eurasia,” explains Carlson. So the Chinese party leader rose to become the king of Eurasia – and made Putin his willing subject.

Source: Blick