REDISTRIBUTION OF POWER
The typical objective outlined in their mutual declaration was the” transfer of power in the world ,” an ending to US supremacy, and the redefining of democracy and human rights as whatever a given state says they are, regardless of whether Putin disclosed to Xi specifics of his impending plans to invade Ukraine at their 2022 meeting.
For certain, Xi didn’t foresee Russia’s war machine being humiliated in Ukraine or that the West may react by uniting and expanding rather than by imploding, any more than Putin did. In a similar vein, it’s unlikely that Xi anticipated the latest Middle East blaze when the two officials met in February 2022.
However, trouble in Ukraine or the Middle East is a gain for China in terms of an all-out political conflict with the US. Both rely on US tools and focus. Both challenged the status quo. Options for Xi may arise as the US becomes involved in Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in Gaza and its partnerships with the Gulf Arab state will become strained.
Therefore, China has avoided any open criticism of Hamas while criticizing Israel for its social punishment of Palestinians in reply, only as Putin quickly laid the blame for the horrifying attack on Israeli civilians at the entrance of the US.
Putin and Xi are doubling down on their achievements in convincing the so-called Global South that the issue isn’t Russian anger in Ukraine or Hamas’ hideous criminal deeds in Israel, but rather the continued colonization of the US and Europe by courting the Arab world in this way.
Never mind the Taiwanese detention of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province or the Russian destruction of Muslim Tatars in the occupied Crimea. The Arab injustice, with its imperial overtones and extensive background in centuries of conflict over control of the Holy Land, can infuriate the Arab Street unlike any other, which is why the story works.
But be prepared for Xi and Putin to deliver more vehement anti-Western messages this year. They may have experienced some financial and military failures, in Russia’s case, but they are making good progress when it comes to uniting various countries behind their produce.