Thread by @ABPevzner

As Chin. President #XiJinping visits Moscow, what signals #China and #Russia are sending each other, the world, and re #UkraineRussianWar? Comparison of statements 🧵:
1.Both Xi and Putin published articles in leading media, Putin in @PDChina and Xi in @rianru. Some diff.: 1/20

On #CH-#RU ties, Xi repeats the Chinese definition of ties: "China and Russia are committed to no-alliance, no-confrontation and not targeting any third party in developing our ties.坚持不结盟、不对抗、不针对第三方“。 2/20 CH: mfa.gov.cn/zyxw/202303/t2…
EN: fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_6…

Russian President #Putin, on the other hand, REPEATS the "NO LIMITS" 提法/formula from 2022: Russia-China ties "surpass Cold War-time military-political alliances in their quality, with no one to constantly order and no one to constantly obey, without limitations or taboos." 3/20

Chinese: "从质量角度来看，这种关系超越冷战时期的军事政治联盟，也没有领导者和追随者，没有任何界限或禁区。两国政治对话是极为信任的，是一种全面的新时代战略协作." #Putin #Russia
4/20
paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2023…

Russian version: Российско-китайские отношения... по своему качеству они превосходят военно-политические союзы времён холодной войны, в них нет ведущего и ведомого, нет каких-либо ограничителей или запретных тем. 5/20
kremlin.ru/events/preside…

The "no limits and no forbidden zones" is (not surprisingly) ABSENT in Xi's article from today (March 20, 2023). The formula in the Feb. 4, 2022 joint statement, pre #Russian #invasion of #Ukraine️ is only slightly different: 两国友好没有止境，合作没有禁区/ 6/20

"Дружба между двумя государствами не имеет границ, в сотрудничестве нет запретных зон" "Friendship between the two States has no limits, there are no ”forbidden“ areas of cooperation" 7/20

The "no-alliance, no-confrontation and not targeting any third party" formula was repeated by FM Qin Gang at the March 7, 2023 Two Sessions presser, but Qin had an interesting addition, that has NOT gone unnoticed by Russian friends: 8/20
@ru_global

Qin Gang: "Head-of-state interaction is the compass and anchor of China-Russia relations/元首交往是中俄关系的指南针和定盘星。"(literally, 定盘星 means "steelyard" or 'fixed point'). This phrase is absent from the articles by Xi and Putin. 9/20

2.On World Order: Both #China and #Russia push against the #US-led global order, support UN centrality, reject sanctions, etc. But Xi's article naturally gives more weight to the Chinese vision and moves of reordering the world, e.g. Global Security Initiative 全球安全倡议 10/20

Putin: China's GSI corresponds with RU's view: В этой связи отмечаем конструктивную роль китайской «Инициативы в области глобальной безопасности», которая созвучна российским подходам в этой сфере. 我们赞赏中国全球安全倡议发挥的建设性作用，这与俄罗斯在这一领域的立场相契合11/20

Putin: In this regard, we note the constructive role of China's Global Security Initiative, which is in line with the Russian approaches in this area. 12/20
en.kremlin.ru/events/preside…

3. Position on #Ukraine: here Xi again highlights China's efforts in positioning itself as an objective player and China's suggestions: "China has all along upheld an objective and impartial position based on the merits of the issue, and actively promoted peace talks....13/20

"..I have put forth several proposals, i.e., observing the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect of the legitimate security concerns of all countries, ....and ensuring the stability of global industrial and supply chains. 14/20

"Not long ago, we released China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis, which takes into account the legitimate concerns of all parties and reflects the broadest common understanding of the international community on the crisis. " 15/20

Putin concurs..."Признательны за взвешенную линию КНР в связи с происходящими на Украине событиями, за понимание их предыстории и подлинных причин. Приветствуем готовность Китая сыграть конструктивную роль в деле урегулирования кризиса." 16/20

Chinese: 我们感谢中华人民共和国对乌克兰问题采取平衡的态度，理解其历史背景和真实的原因。我们欢迎中国愿意在解决危机方面发挥建设性的作用. 17/20

EN: We appreciate the well-balanced stance on the events in Ukraine adopted by the PRC, as well as its understanding of their historical background and root causes. We welcome China's readiness to make a meaningful contribution to the settlement of the crisis." 18/20

Bottom line: both sides are using each other - China wants to present itself as a responsible stakeholder, whereas Russia wants to show that it's not alone. Thank you for reading thru. 19/20

You may find this useful, 请不吝指教. @EvanFeigenbaum @paulhaenle @RollandNadege @ChinaGSProject @theChinaDude @GeringTuvia @DrRadchenko @MoritzRudolf @KaiserKuo @niubi @AlexGabuev @rakovdan
20/20 End.