Did Russia play China for a fool so much that Xi will face problems if he sticks with Putin? Or could China cut its losses hitched to Russia's falling star and get some revenge.
China's "no limits" so-called "alliance" with Russia (it isn't an alliance) turns out to have no limits to the problems Russia is causing to China:
In fact, as the war worsens and Vladimir Putin and his commanders now face the specter of being tried for war crimes, Xi might well be seething. There may have been no other time in his life that he has been as well out-maneuvered as the bait-and-switch partnership with which Putin has now compromised him. Putin has been courting Xi over the course of several years, grooming him for the “no limits” relationship to which they both attested earlier this year. Xi allowed Putin to put him in a position in which he very publicly pledged not only his own but also the Chinese people’s support of Putin and Russia going forward.
Xi Jinping already has a lot to do as he consolidates his power and tries to become Emperor Xi. He hardly needs Russia giving him one more thing he has to worry about screwing up. As the initial article asks, "could the combined crises of the war on Ukraine abroad and his failing and highly unpopular war against COVID-19 at home threaten Xi’s chances of extending his reign?"
China finds that much like Italy needed Germany to bail it out from military failure in World War II, Russia needs China after stumbling against Ukraine. Sadly for Putin, the defeat of Russia won't hurt China anywhere nearly as much as the defeat of Italy would have endangered Germany.
Will China cut its losses by exploiting Russia's difficulties rather than trying to solve them? Or is China's best option to avoid making eye contact with Russia, and hope events work out without making China choose?
There are definitely limits on what China will do for Russia. Are there limits to what China might do to Russia?
NOTE: War coverage continues at this post.
