Xi Jinping Reportedly Planning Moscow Trip As U.S. Claims China Might Offer ‘Lethal’ Aid To Russia

Topline

Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning his first trip to Moscow since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine nearly a twelve months ago to promote peace talks and urge the Kremlin to avoid using nuclear weapons, sources told the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, as President Joe Biden speaks in Poland on U.S. support for Ukraine and as U.S. officials warn China could provide “lethal support” to the Russian military.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly visit Moscow this spring.

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Key Facts

Sources familiar with the negotiations told the Journal China intends to help end the war in Ukraine, as the invasion approaches its one-year mark and after previous attempts by Ukraine and Russia—which has occupied parts of eastern Ukraine—to strike a peace deal have proven unsuccessful.

Beijing is reportedly seeking to persuade the Kremlin from using nuclear arms in Ukraine, though the report comes just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he will suspend Russia’s participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) nuclear arms agreement with the U.S., deploying new ground-based nuclear weapons for combat duty.

Three days ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern that China is considering supplying “lethal” military support to Russia, even as China offers to serve as a neutral broker to end the war, telling CBS’ Face the Nation any amount of “lethal” support would cause a “serious problem for us in our relationship [with China]

The timing of Xi’s trip has not yet been determined, though he’s expected to travel in April or May to coincide with the anniversary of Russia’s military victory over Germany in World War II, sources told the Journal.

News Peg

Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi also visited Moscow on Tuesday, saying the relation between Moscow and Beijing is “rock solid” and can “withstand any test in a changing international situation,” multiple outlets reported.

Chief Critic

Chinese officials’ stated intentions to work as a neutral negotiator have come under scrutiny, with Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, calling them “incredible.” He told Bloomberg on Monday that in order for China to be a neutral party, it would need to show that it is independent of the two sides, though it has “clearly chosen a side in this conflict.”

Key Background

Putin admitted last September that China had “questions and concerns” about the war, in his first meeting with Xi since Russia invaded Ukraine. Beijing and Moscow, however, have been able to maintain a diplomatic and financial relationship, with China boosting its imports of Russian oil and avoiding sanctions on Russia and its oligarchs imposed by the U.S. and western European countries. China and Russia had even declared just before the war began that the two countries’ friendship had “no limits.” According to Russian trade data seen by the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, China’s state-owned defense companies have been providing support for Russia’s military, despite U.S.-led sanctions.

Tangent

Xi’s planned trip comes as Biden reasserts a U.S. commitment to backing Ukraine. Speaking in Poland on Tuesday after a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital, Biden declared “Kyiv lives strong,” accusing Russia of committing crimes against humanity by targeting Ukrainian civilians, hospitals, schools and maternity wards. The U.S., along with its western allies, has continued sending military aid to Ukraine, including $500 million in additional artillery, ammunition and air surveillance radars Biden announced on Monday.

Surprising Fact

Blinken canceled a planned trip to Beijing earlier this month after a suspected spy balloon was spotted over Montana, which U.S. fighter jets later shot down after it crossed the South Carolina coastline. U.S. officials claim the balloon was part of a Chinese program to spy on military bases around the world, though Chinese officials denied the object was being used for surveillance, insisting it was a civilian weather balloon that floated off course.