Xi Jinping 'really doesn't like Russia' despite support for 'Putin's war machine' | Michael Sheridan

"We know that, deep down, Xi Jingping really doesn't like Russia."

Recent talk of an "eternal friendship" between China and Russia disguises the historic bad blood between the two nations and the mutual distrust of their leaders, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, says veteran China correspondent and author Michael Sheridan.

Join this channel to get access to perks -

[donaldmackerer]

China remembers that it was Russia and not the US who annexed large parts of their territory.

[ddewittfulton]

The Russian Far East would be of invaluable strategic interest to China. Vladivostok has long been a sore spot Beijing and they have long memory for the humiliations they suffered at the hand of Russia in the 19th century.

The port at Vladivostok is operational year-round, including during the winter. In terms of the geo political scene, Russia is very vulnerable with respect to China. It is not a partnership of equals.

That being said, there are non-trivial economic and social factors that would likely hamper an expansionist drive for China in the near and medium term.

[christianeaster]

Russia and China have had several alliances over the years. They've always fallen apart over their inability to trust each other and mutual desire for territory in east Siberia.

[pinky]

Russia and China are geopolitical rivals in Central Asia. Countries like Kazakhstan are traditional lackeys of Russia, but since the invasion of Ukraine their diplomatic relations have gone cold. They no longer trust Russia in military matters. E.g. a major military training maneuver between Russia and Kazakhstan was canceled by Kazakhstan. They DO NOT want russian soldiers on their border. At the same time, China has begun a diplomatic offensive in Central Asia to pull these countries on its side as economic partners to stabilize the chinese economy. And *THIS* puts them at odds with Russia, which wants these countries to build its own russo-centric geopolitical economic alliance similar to the EU/Eurozone.

[jameswingert]

"alliance of porcupines" 🤣😂🤣 good work Times Radio

[phemstros]

The invisible man is a great interviewer. Would love to see more of him.

[thomasjgallagher]

Does it matter if China and Russia don't fully trust each other? There's a reason China is choosing to help Russia, and unless that reason changes, the indirect result of China's actions means more death and destruction in Ukraine. That's unacceptable in any case.

[paraweir]

Xi and pootin are like the 2 rotten tomatoes in the bag..

[hillerm]

I’ve been in China for years and have always been surprised at how little enthusiasm the Chinese people have for Russia and Putin. The cultural exchange is minimal. If not for the occasional interactions news stories, you’d never know that the countries were allies.

[a-stranger-passing-thru]

No surprise to me. There’s a reason Mao and Chou En-lai hosted Richard Nixon in 1972, which I remember.

[seanlander]

It’s Europe that is funding Russia, by buying billions in food and LNG. Britain then tips that up by refining Russian oil imported from India to sell to the Europeans.

[Allgood]

The Chinese want Manchuria back. A deal could be made. The west helped build China not Russia or Africa or any other area. China could be incredibly strong if it allied with the west and conformed to more rational trading policies.

[leisamaggard]

aliance of porkupines!hahahahaha! awesome!

[jimvazirov]

Loved this expression, 'An alliance of porcupines!' Very true! These two are friendly enemies😂

[bayyinahzhaxx]

They don't have to like each other to do business. It's just business! Much like many European countries, historically, haven't liked each other, but business was/is good. At the end of the day, go home with success.

[paulskinback]

If everyone stoped building weapons there'd be nothing to be paranoid about

[AbrahamToshner]

You will understand what alliances are when you understand the true nature of politics. Ignorance is a disease

[LR-jkjk]

That actually makes sense. Dictators are bad people who oppress their own folk and are aggressive towards everyone else. So even other dictators don't like dictators, they just feel compelled to tolerate them because they are similar.

[DavidJohnson-ygqm]

Who's afraid of the big bad bear? Don't you get tired of hearing this over and over again?

[dingoyongo]

I wish I had the mind reading capability of these people. Do they really think we're that daft?