Archived

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Some tactical cooperation makes sense for both sides — just don’t expect any grand bargain.

The Xinhua news agency account didn’t include any mention of Ukraine [in their coverage on the phone call between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week].

But the EU’s readout did. Von der Leyen “reaffirmed the EU’s steadfast support for a just and lasting peace” in the three-year-old war and emphasized that any conditions for peace “must be determined by Ukraine.” She invited China to intensify its efforts to “contribute meaningfully” to the peace process, according to the statement.

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Coincidentally (perhaps), President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Tuesday that Ukrainian troops captured two Chinese citizens fighting for Russia, the first time the country’s nationals have been taken prisoner during the war. That furnished a reminder of where China’s default sympathies lie, on the same day as Li’s call with von der Leyen.

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This near-term necessity [to collaborate and seek allies] must be balanced against the recognition that China’s ruling Communist Party stands on the side of forces that present an existential threat to Europe’s security.

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Under [Chinese President] Xi, it has become clear that China hasn’t come to join the postwar global order designed by the US, but to reshape it in its own image. The Ukraine invasion is the most tangible demonstration of that.

Three weeks before Russian troops started crossing the border, Xi and Putin signed an agreement that said there would be “no limits” to their cooperation. It is a remarkably candid document that can fairly be described as a blueprint for a new world order — one that is more comfortable for autocracies. China professed neutrality after the Ukraine war started, but its diplomatic actions and expanding trade and investment with Russia are evidence of de facto support.

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Expediency dictates there will be some cooperation between Europe and China, but don’t mistake it for anything more profound or longer lasting. Some things are worth more than an extra battery plant or two.

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In related news, Australia turns down China’s offer to ‘join hands’ to fight US tariffs, says it would build its economic resilience by strengthening trade ties with the European Union, Indonesia, India, Britain and the Middle East.