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China’s top diplomat Wang Yi is visiting Russia. Russia is continuously engaged in gathering help for the war in Ukraine.
China is a close ally of Russia and is accused of indirectly helping Russia. China has been denying these claims.
Wang Yi’s visit comes after the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. It is believed that both the countries have discussed about the arms deal.
According to Russian media, Wang Yi’s visit will also prepare the stage for Putin’s later visit to China.
This month, Putin had said that he wants to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping soon, but he did not give any time for this possible meeting.
In March this year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine. Since then Putin has not gone out of Russia.
Putin last visited Belarus and Kyrgyzstan outside Russia in December 2022.
China’s Foreign Ministry has said that Wang Yi is on a four-day visit to Russia and he has gone there for ‘strategic security discussions’.
Russian news agency Tass quoted the Kremlin as saying that Wang will also meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Ukraine war will be at the center of these talks.
The Kremlin has also said that NATO’s infrastructure and expansion in Asia-Pacific will also be discussed in the talks.
Apart from this, coordination between the two countries will also be a part of the discussions in the United Nations.
Wang Yi’s visit is taking place after Putin’s controversial meeting with Kim Jong-un.
America alleges that in that meeting North Korea and Russia discussed arms deals.
It is said that due to Ukraine war, Russia is facing shortage of ammunition.
But Russia and North Korea have said in their statement that they have not made any agreement and the topic of their discussions was cooperation in the field of military and satellite technology.
Last week, when the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson was asked a question about the meeting between Putin and Kim, the spokesperson said that ‘this is a matter between the two countries.’
Russia’s help with support from North Korea?
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But some experts say that the cooperation between North Korea and Russia is happening with the consent of China because China is close to these countries.
These close relations, apart from the shared ideology of socialism with North Korea, are the reasons for both to view America with suspicion.
China has been providing economic assistance to North Korea for a long time. And last year China started purchasing Russian oil and gas.
Alexander Korolev, an expert on Sino-Russian relations at the University of New South Wales, Australia, says, “Whatever is going on between Russia and North Korea is not possible without Chinese consent. I do not think that these two will make any agreement on military cooperation between themselves without China’s consent. “China could see North Korea in Russia as a useful proxy through which China could help Russia in Ukraine.”
Korolev says, “For China, allowing North Korea to help Russia is a kind of cooperation with Moscow while taking very little risk. If questions arise, China can say that North Korea does not listen to anyone and its deal There is no hand in it. If this happens then it will be a very smart move.”
China’s stance on Ukraine war
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This visit of senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi is taking place after his talks with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Malta.
According to statements by the US and China, in addition to US-China relations, Sullivan and Wang also discussed regional security and the Ukraine war.
Korolev says that it is possible that America is talking to China so that China can put pressure on North Korea not to make any military agreement with Russia.
But if China had wanted to join hands with America in the war between Russia and Ukraine, it would have happened already.
America accuses China of Russia’s financial help. He says that since the war, China has been cooperating with Russia by sending technology.
According to a US intelligence report released in July, ‘China is extending a helping hand to reduce the impact of economic sanctions imposed on Russia.’
It has been said in the report that China has increased the purchase of oil and gas from Russia and both the countries are doing most of the trade in each other’s currency.
China has consistently denied these allegations and said that its opinion on the Ukraine war has remained the same from the beginning.
Earlier this year, Wang Yi had suggested his own Ukraine peace deal during his visit to Russia.
Additional reporting: Evgeny Pudovkin, BBC Monitoring