Chinese leader Xi Jinping flies
to Moscow
to meet with Russian
President Vladimir Putin,
his first visit
since Russia invaded Ukraine.
It's a powerful show of Xi's emboldened
diplomatic ambitions
and Beijing support for Moscow
to jump in today.
Chinese foreign
ministry said
the country's, quote
proposition boils down to one sentence,
which is to urge peace and promote talks.
Beijing has tried to present itself
as a neutral peace broker on Ukraine.
Publishing a position paper last month
calling for a political settlement
and casting Xi as a global statesman
with fresh momentum
after helping Saudi
Arabia and Iran
broker a historic deal
to restore diplomatic ties.
But Western leaders are skeptical
of Beijing's portrayal as a mediator.
He and Putin declared
a no limits partnership last year
when Putin visited
Beijing for the Winter Olympic
opening ceremony.
This is a year
she has met Putin in person 39 times
since becoming China's leader,
even exchanging gifts, including pandas.
China has refused
to condemn the invasion
or even call it an invasion.
Instead, Beijing has parroted
the Kremlin's misinformation
while blaming Naito on China's heavily
censored social media.
It's all hearts and thumbs up emojis.
In response
to the government's official post
about the state visit
with comments like Hope
Russia will win soon.
Hope there will be world
peace
and long live China-Russia friendship.
Beijing has also strengthened
economic and military ties with Moscow
by boosting
trade and holding frequent
military exercises.
While Western officials
have raised concerns
that China may be considering
providing Russia
with lethal military aid.
Beijing has denied the accusation.
Last month, Putin told
China's top diplomat
Wang Yi and Moscow
that relations
between their countries
are reaching new milestones.
The two nations,
bound together
by their shared vision for a new world
order,
no longer dominated by the West and Sea.
And while she has spoken
to Putin multiple times
since the invasion,
virtually and in-person
and he's not yet
had a single phone call
with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky,
though Ukraine's presidential advisor
says negotiations
about a potential Zelensky
Xi conversation are ongoing
as she heads to Russia.
The ability of China to help
resolve the conflict hangs in the balance
Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
I want to turn now to China.
This week,
Chinese President
Xi Jinping
will meet with Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Of course,
these two leaders will discuss
Ukraine as China continues
to try to portray itself
as a neutral party
that could be an honest peace broker.
Now, you sit on the House
Committee on China.
What strategy
do you think she is trying
to implement here?
For the last 70 years,
the triangle between China, Russia
and the United States has been
the most important set
of international relationships
in the world.
And clearly, right now, Xie
Jingping is settling up to Russia
as it prepares to compete
with the United States
in the 21st century.
If Xie Jingping decides to send weapons
to Russia
for its brutal, unprovoked
invasion of Ukraine,
that would be
the most significant development
in that war since the invasion itself.
On February 24th.
And the United States and its allies
need to be prepared
to respond
with severe sanctions
and international condemnation.
Whether those arms sales happen overtly
or covertly
because China does have a long track
record of covert arms shipments
over the last 30 years.
But it really just reminds us
that we can't rely on the goodwill
or the good judgment and see Jingping
he is bent on a world order
in which China is at
the top of a hierarchy.
It's in direct competition
to the rules based international order
where right might does not make right
that the United States helped
put together after World War Two.
And we've got to defend it forcefully.
On the world stage. Economic alliances,
initiatives to strengthen democracy,
diplomacy and security initiatives
We need to do all of this
with countries
like Nigeria,
India, Brazil, Mexico,
the rising nations of the global South
to build a web of alliances
against the Chinese Communist Party.
On the topic,
you were recently part of a U.S.
delegation that traveled to Taiwan.
So what are the geopolitical implications
of XI and China
potentially trying
to get more involved in the Ukraine war?
Taiwan crystallizes the threat
from the Chinese Communist Party
and the United States.
One needs to continue
to send arms to Taiwan
as it prepares
its strategy
of defense in-depth
against a potential Chinese invasion.
We should also work with Taiwan
on their energy security.
Right now,
they have two to three weeks
of energy reserves.
That's
not a good situation to be in
when you're an island faced
with an amphibious
invasion or a blockade for that matter.
And finally,
and this really applies to Taiwan,
but everywhere else in the world,
especially in democracies,
we have got to do a better job
of countering disinformation
and propaganda.
We should be supporting
local journalism efforts.
We should be holding
the social media companies
to account for how they allow
disinformation and deepfakes
to propagate, because the Chinese are
launching concerted propaganda
efforts throughout the world.