By Ray McGovern, November 12, 2022
While Chinese President Xi Jinping may couch his words politely, he is not likely to be “inscrutable” in warning the President of the possibility of a two-front war, if the situations in Ukraine and/or Taiwan continue to escalate.
Whether such a warning can get through Biden’s elderly skull or the equally thick skulls of his adolescent advisers is, alas, a different matter. Those amateur advisers would have to give up their benighted view that they can drive a wedge between China and Russia.
Best Friends “Stick Up” for Each Other
President Xi has called Putin his “best friend”. Elite, Ivy-mantled bureaucrats in Washington pooh-pooh that as rhetoric. One can only hope they avoid steps that make them learn the hard way to take the “rhetoric” seriously.
When the planned Biden-Xi meeting was announced Wednesday, Biden was asked whether the Chinese and the Russians are “putting together a real alliance”, Biden said:
I don’t think there’s a lot of respect that China has for Russia or for Putin. I don’t think they’re looking at it as a particular alliance. Matter of fact, they’ve been sort of keeping their distance a little bit.
Keeping Their Distance
I threw water on the “keeping their distance” claim a couple of days ago. Yesterday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman was asked about China and Russia “keeping their distance”. This was his reply:
I can tell you that China’s relations with Russia are rock-solid. As each other’s largest neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era, the two sides have always … advanced bilateral relations and cooperation in various areas on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. The long-term sound and steady advancement of China-Russia relations is primarily built on a high degree of mutual trust and strong internal dynamics. China will continue to work with Russia to move forward bilateral relations on a right and steady track. [Emphasis added.]
An American specialist on China suggested to me that perhaps Xi will also suggest that Biden learn the Serenity Prayer.
I had almost a half hour yesterday to set the stage for Monday’s summit in Bali.