I agree with all your points. All pre-war. AND they do share this common “enemy” NATO that China does a shit-load of trade with.
That’s why they are standing back. Had it gone more Putin’s way, I have little doubt that China would have moved in Taiwan BUT they just wanted to feel out the response first.
China puts China first which is its economic interests.
I watched closely how they would vote.
They are the friends that stood back from the bully when he took his dick out to piss (blowback).
This is just posturing prior. They have no written agreements. They are not beholden to each other and Putin doesn’t exactly live up to written agreements anyway.
Agreed, though the timing of such a public, sweeping, joint statement doesn’t look good in this particular circumstance considering events that unfolded just days afterward, I would suggest.
I’d also be surprised if there were now many Western leaders who will let China wipe the stink off them from their enablement of Moscow.
Ok that wasn’t clear, especially since you mention the EU which has no direct link to NATO. As of 2022, there are 30 members of NATO. In a 2014 NATO summit all member states agreed to pay 2% of their GDP by 2025, so far just 3 members have paid or exceeded that target, the US (3.6%), the UK (2.1%) and Greece (2.4%).
So yes there is a shortfall by the other 27 member states, but there are also 3 years to the deadline, and given the effects of Covid perhaps it’s unreasonable to the think all member states have been affected equally. However let’s hope Putin has just reinforced the need for a strong alliance, and demonstrated that NATO is as important as ever.
Not sure that’s the case tbh. It’s of course perfectly reasonable to assume China might take advantage of the situation. It’d be pretty naive to think Xi Jinping wasn’t watching very closer to measure the reaction by Western countries, and the US and NATO in particular.
However beyond Putin being forced to try and trade with China, because of crippling sanctions, I doubt China has much interest in an alliance, and I doubt Russia would get an equitable alliance anyway.
China will do what most advances their economic, political and military place in the world, that’s a given.
They also did not vote against UN sanctions against Russia, instead abstaining. I wouldn’t mistake their usual antipathy towards the US and NATO in the form of familiar rhetoric, as any sign they’re aligning themselves with Russia in an alliance. Why would they, they’re in a much stronger position politically, and economically, why would they risk that when they have little to gain?
When you repeat mindless fucking nonsense like this…“Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has said France would not put up a fight if Russia invaded, as it did in Ukraine.”
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said over the weekend he is prepared to put on the “full armor of God” to fight against leftism.
The popular governor made the comment during his speech Saturday at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference, where he received several standing ovations.
DeSantis said he plans to lead the charge in fighting “the left’s schemes.”” (CBN News)
That is this mob "About - Faith and Freedom Coalition
A little more insight into the Russia China “understanding” AND how Kazakhstan currently showed the tone.
Hmmm the “understanding” is China protects China’s ECONOMIC interests. That’s it.
Investment is different than trade China invested US$19.2 billion in the country between 2005-20 , according to the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan. Some 56 China-backed projects worth nearly US$24.5 billion are due to finish by 2023.
Compare to Russia (again this is investment)… Joint lists of projects have been announced in the past and often win headlines, but ultimately few projects are delivered. In 2009, Hu Jintao and Dmitri Medvedev announced over 200 joint projects. Five years later, less than 10 percent were actually progressing.15 In 2014 and 2015, Russia created 20 special economic zones (SEZs) to attract foreign investment to its Far East. Only six have attracted Chinese investment, which totaled a mere $38 million between 2015 and 2018. The same problems—red tape, poor infrastructure, and corruption—all remain.16
TRADE so China Russia trade is increasing BUT seriously, in the end, who is going to benefit more???**
The Russia-China economic relationship is certainly a dimension but the biggest issue in the world for China, by very far, is their strategic rivalry with the U.S. Russia is a useful partner in this and the two nations face some of the same desires and challenges.
China has historically done a lot of eye rolling at Russia’s methods. They weren’t fans of the failures of Brezhnev and Gorbachev that led to a collapse of the Communist system. They’re probably even looking at Putin and thinking, here’s a third leader making a mistake of strategic proportions.
In the United Nations Security Council, though, they vote in sync. Both highly desire an end to Western meddling in their moves and U.S.-free international organizations, like the Collective Security Treaty Organization of six ex-Soviet states and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The largest military exercises conducted since the end of the Cold War were held on the border of Russia and China in 2018, consisting of hundreds of thousands of troops from both countries. They recently announced a joint mission to put a manned station on the moon. The last time China and Russia financially and militarily supported a war against the West it was a very effective combo.
China will be watching carefully and trying not to get snared into Russia’s current sanctions, but I think if a wider war came to pass they wouldn’t sit idly by and let Russia take the savage beating, then swoop in after that’s done and reap the benefits for their ongoing prosecution of their competition with the U.S. Do that, I think, and they’d find it virtually impossible to get chummy with another major player country for a very long time.
Agree with everything. This though hmmm … I just don’t know My past was in finance so I could sorta “read” or get a feel (on a large scale) but this part - fuck - I have no insight.
I would still lean towards the finance and financial pressure being the biggest game player for China . They have a love/hate relationship with the west. They were smart enough to adopt “capitalism” into their communist regime.
The first act by Putin AND the most crucial (IMO) was trying to drive President Zelensky out of Ukraine . It is common for the country leaders to take off or hide in crisis situations. It was this act alone - him staying to fight that shocked the shit out of Putin .
He’s not only rallied his people but the democratic world… his “friends”.
Quite a few Russian moves in this war indicate that, should Putin be making major move calls, he isn’t listening to good military advice.
Mostly disuse of their tremendous sea power and deployment of naval infantry.
A lack of cohesive command structure of units operating in the north and the accompanying operational failures - units that weren’t even postured for attack in the first place, as it turns out.
Various forms of new weapons and other assets for use (according to Russian doctrine) in such a war haven’t been used.
The sheer weight of numbers in Russian military remain undeployed, which would enable them to roll over Ukranian resistance no matter how badly the current campaign is going.
I agree that something has definitely shifted in Putin’s (and the Kremlin’s) approach, if not attachment to rationality.
They initially tried to spin the war to the Russian people as one of waging war on a Ukranian government full of Nazis and drug addicts and not the people themselves, and so the Ukranian people would welcome them with open arms.
That notion alone indicates how much self made Kool Aid they’re drinking, IMHO. Here’s hoping that irrationality continues to mean “making bad and undermanned military moves” and not “making an astonishingly sudden and brutal move.”
Authoritarianism regimes are looking around nervously…
Edited to add: some have speculated that it’s a “roid rage”. That’s a reference to steroids. I was on prednisone for about 2 years 24 years ago for my Crohns - and by the end … all mooned faced and paranoid as shit!
me bad 
and can be stooopid with word choice (although I do try to minimize it).
China 
“understanding” AND how Kazakhstan 
currently showed the tone.
the “understanding” is China protects China’s ECONOMIC interests. That’s it.
… I just don’t know 
My past was in finance so I could sorta “read” or get a feel (on a large scale) but this part - fuck - I have no insight.
. They have a love/hate relationship with the west. They were smart enough to adopt “capitalism” into their communist regime.
. It is common for the country leaders to take off or hide in crisis situations. It was this act alone - him staying to fight that shocked the shit out of Putin 
.
