No path to peace: Five key takeaways from Xi and Putin’s talks in Moscow

Hong Kong CNN — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have made a sweeping affirmation of their alignment across a host of issues – and shared mistrust of the United States – in a lengthy statement following talks between the two leaders in Moscow this week. On Tuesday, Zelensky said a ceasefire would “simply freeze” the conflict, giving Russia time to “prepare and come back again with their single wish, the wish of their leader - that is to occupy our country.” New world order and alignment against the US Experts say that China and Russia’s inclination to build their alignment against the US – and a world order more suited to their own more autocratic agendas – was driving the meeting, not interest in resolving the conflict in Ukraine. They also hit out at Washington at multiple points – including saying they “urge the United States to stop undermining international and regional security and global strategic stability in order to maintain its own unilateral military superiority.” Alexander Korolev, an international relations expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said the joint statement showed an “overall convergence of Chinese and Russian world views and approaches to many international issues.” “It’s very explicit and clear in terms of identifying the United States as a major security threat,” he said. Xi and Putin both expressed “serious concerns” in their joint statement about NATO’s “continuous strengthening of military-security ties with Asia-Pacific countries” and said they “oppose external military forces undermining regional peace and stability.” As China’s aggression in the South China Sea increased, the US has bolstered its Indo-Pacific presence and its ties with regional allies. Both leaders also said they “will build a closer energy partnership, supporting companies from both countries in advancing cooperation projects in oil, gas, coal, electricity and nuclear energy.” Putin in comments to media added that further growth in Russian gas exports to China was discussed, including “implementation of the initiative to build the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline through the territory of Mongolia.” Xi did not explicitly mention the pipeline in his comments at the briefing, which Russia has touted as a replacement for the now-defunct Nord Stream 2 line delivering gas into Europe.