Xi, Putin advance partnership in Moscow visit
Suggested ceasefire in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fails to gain credibility in West
As Russian war planes bombed Odessa and its army shelled Ukrainian towns, Russia President Vladimir Putin hosted China President Xi Jinping on the second day of a formal state visit in Moscow.
The two leaders signed agreements, held a press briefing and celebrated their relationship at a state dinner. Xi’s visit is seen bolstering a weakened Putin whose invasion of Ukraine has faltered, provoking a tough response from the US and NATO allies.
“No matter how the international landscape may change, China will stay committed to advancing the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era,” Xi said during the visit, according to the China People’s Daily, appearing to downplay the war in Ukraine.
Xi’s decision to pay a state visit to Russia shortly after Xi’s re-election “is a clear proof of the special nature of the Russian-Chinese partnership, which is based on mutual respect and recognition of each other’s interests," Putin said, addressing Xi at the state dinner, according to TASS, the state-run Russian news outlet.
The economic agreements mean China will get a supply of low-priced oil and gas from Russia and access to Russian consumer markets as Western nations cut ties and sanction the Russian economy.
‘Peace’ plan a non-starter
Earlier in the day, at a joint media conference, Putin said Kyiv and the West are not ready for peace negotiations proposed by China. "Many provisions of the Chinese peace plan can be taken as the basis for settling of the conflict in Ukraine, whenever the West and Kyiv are ready for it," Putin said, but Russia has yet to see such "readiness", the BBC reported.
Xi said China, by maintaining an “impartial position” while proposing dialogue, is on the "right side of history". He is expected to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his trip to Moscow.
Xi and Putin’s suggestions of a ceasefire have been rejected in Washington as an attempt to validate Russia’s invasion before an expected Western-backed Ukrainian counteroffensive this spring.
“Xi’s rescue strategy for Russia seems to center on a peace plan that would stanch the bleeding in Ukraine. From what we know, Xi proposes a cease-fire agreement that would freeze Russia’s gains from last year’s illegal invasion. That version won’t fly with Ukraine or the United States,” Washington Post national security columnist David Ignatius writes.
“By playing the peacemaker, Xi can position himself better to take other, harsher rescue measures if Ukraine rejects a cease-fire. He could offer ammunition for Russia, arguing he’s only leveling the playing field.”
China has been helping Russia economically by buying Russian oil and providing dual-use products like semiconductor chips for weapons manufacture. While Moscow has been asking Beijing for more direct military support for the war, Chinese leaders have thus far refrained from providing major weapons. In Washington, US officials have warned China against giving Russia lethal aid.
Japan PM in Ukraine
Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Kyiv for a meeting with Zelenskyy on Tuesday as Putin and Xi were talking in Moscow. He traveled to Bucha to see mass graves of civilians left behind by retreating Russian troops earlier in the war.
In a joint press conference with Zelenskyy, Kishida said Japan would “continue to provide unwavering support to Ukraine,” and pledged $30 million in military aid.
Japan has accelerated its military spending in response to China’s actions in the East and begun a cooperation dialogue with South Korea – steps that are part of a broader US-led effort to build a defense coalition opposite China in the Pacific.
Britain to supply armor-piercing rounds
Britain’s Defence Minister Annabel Goldie said a day ago that the UK would supply “armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium” to Ukraine with the Challenger 2 tanks that the UK is providing. The depleted uranium rounds are “highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles,” she noted.
Putin responded during his meetings with Xi, saying Russia would respond. “If all this happens, Russian will have to respond accordingly, given that the west collectively is already beginning to use weapons with a nuclear component,” Putin said, according to The Guardian.
Depleted uranium is a very hard metal alloy used to make armor-piercing projectiles. A byproduct of nuclear fuel development, it lacks fissile qualities but may carry toxic risks for troops and local populations.
Munitions with depleted uranium can have serious negative health effects for the military servicemen who use them, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu warned an interview with Rossiya-1 TV.
US sending Abrams tanks
The US Defense Department is moving faster to send M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine after initially signaling the US tanks would be delayed a year or more. President Joe Biden had agreed in January to give Ukraine 31 Abrams tanks as part of a deal that included Germany providing Leopard II battle tanks, which are arriving in Ukraine now.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters at the Pentagon the US will refurbish older M1A1 models that can be shipped to Ukraine faster. Ryder said the tanks should be in Ukrainian service by the autumn.
“These will be excess hulls in our inventory that we will refurbish, refit” by drawing from existing stocks and Ukraine security assistance “in order to make them combat-ready,” Ryder said, according to Bloomberg.
US issues more rules curtailing chips
The US Commerce Department proposed new guidelines on Tuesday that would prevent semiconductor manufacturing firms that receive US subsidies from producing chips in “foreign entities of concern”.
Congress last year passed a $52 billion subsidy program to bring semiconductor manufacturing to the US. The proposed rules would also restrict joint research or tech licensing for certain types of semiconductors deemed “critical to national security”. The restrictions are aimed at China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
In the Netherlands, which has agreed to join the US in restricting exports, China’s Ambassador Tan Jian has warned the restrictions “will not be without consequences”.
“I’m not going to speculate on countermeasures, but China won’t just swallow this,” Tan said in a podcast interview with Het Financieele Dagblad on Monday.
The Dutch firm ASML Holding NV, headquartered in Veldhoven, is a global leader in producing high-tech machines used to make advanced chips.