Rising global tensions may have China rethinking Russia alliance: analysts
- ‘When you look at the Russia-China relationship, the ‘no limits’ partnership is starting to bump up against a few limits,’ one says
- Experts suggest Beijing might move closer to US positions on Ukraine and Mideast as it seeks to rein in ‘chaos’
With conflicts in the Middle East joining the war in Ukraine as strains on China’s foreign relations, Beijing might well be rethinking its alliance with Russia, analysts said on Tuesday.
“When you look at the Russia-China relationship, the ‘no limits’ partnership is starting to bump up against a few limits,” Rick Waters, until recently the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for China and Taiwan, said in a discussion hosted by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP).
Concerning the Israel-Gaza conflict and Russia’s war against Ukraine, Waters, now managing director of Eurasia Group’s China practice, said, “I don’t think that China is an agent of chaos in either context – and they’re a bit nervous that the Russians are – and so I think on Gaza we’ve started to see some indications privately that the Chinese have weighed in with the Iranians”.
Indeed, China might be moving closer to the US positions on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East as it seeks to rein in “chaos” that could undermine Beijing’s interests.
01:51
Xi Jinping: China, Russia will defend ‘justice’ in first meeting since Israel-Hamas conflict
Time may also be running out for North Korea’s strengthening relationship with Russia, owing to “palpable discontent in Beijing” with Moscow providing some types of technology to Pyongyang, Waters said.