China, Russia Give Differing Accounts of Xi-Putin Phone Call

(Bloomberg) -- Russia and China gave alternative accounts of President Xi Jinping’s birthday call with Vladimir Putin, as both sides seek to manage perceptions of their relationship in the wake of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

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The Kremlin readout said the two men, both 69, discussed increasing economic cooperation, trade and military-technical ties between China and Russia on Wednesday. Moscow’s version also implied the Chinese leader endorsed Putin’s justification for invading Ukraine, saying Xi noted the “legitimacy of Russia’s actions in protecting its fundamental national interests in the face of security challenges created by external forces.”

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, by contrast, said Xi “actively promoted world peace and the stability of the global economic order” during the call. He pushed all parties to find “a proper settlement to the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner,” the report added, making no mention of military ties or increasing trade links.

Read more: China Calls Russia Relationship a ‘New Model’ for the World

Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow and chair of the Russia in Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said the Kremlin’s readout of the call was geared toward a domestic audience. Putin is trying to project strength at home, after being forced to narrow his war goals to the east by his failure to quickly take Kyiv and other key cities. China’s version, Gabuev said, was clearly more mindful of the West, where its war response is under great scrutiny.

President Joe Biden warned China in March of “implications and consequences” if Beijing backs Moscow over the invasion, either by providing military support or helping it avoid sweeping economic sanctions imposed by the US, the European Union and others.

While there’s been no sign of Beijing helping Moscow in either way, it has offered rhetorical support by repeating Russian conspiracy theories -- such as the false claim that the US runs weapons biolabs in Ukraine -- and diplomatically through Xi’s continued contact with Putin.

Read more: Ukraine Latest: US Pledges $1 Billion More in Military Aid

The two men declared a “no limits” friendship in February, weeks before Putin brought war to Ukraine, and they spoke shortly after Russia’s invasion. In contrast, Xi still hasn’t spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, despite Beijing’s claims of a neutral position in the conflict.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China and Russia support each other on “core interests and issues of major concern,” on Thursday at a regular press conference in Beijing, when asked about the apparent discrepancy in the readouts.

“Such strategic coordination does not target any third countries,” he added.

(Updates with Chinese Foreign Ministry comment.)

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