China’s rapprochement with Russia and coordination against America, Xi will visit Serbia

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Belgrade as part of his visit to Europe.

The Chinese leader will stop in the Balkan country on or around May 7, say people familiar with the preparations who asked not to be named as the schedules have not been made public.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry didn’t immediately respond to questions about the details of Xi’s trip to Europe, The Bloomberg reported.

By visiting a European country that has not endorsed Western sanctions against Moscow, Xi would make clear that China will stand alongside Russia and deepen its partnership, said Neil Thomas, China policy fellow at the Asia Society Institute of Politics’ Center for China Analysis.

“The main function of this close relationship is to turn against America.”

Adding to the political theater, Putin – Russia’s longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin – will be inaugurated for his fifth term on May 7.

Xi’s trip to Europe, which includes stops in France and Hungary, comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this month urged the Chinese leader to persuade Putin to end his “crazy” war. According to the Wall Street Journal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will raise similar concerns in Beijing this week as the US works out sanctions against Chinese banks that support the Russian military.

As Beijing has become increasingly isolated within the US-led system, it has joined forces with Moscow to build influence with alternative blocs. NATO has condemned the partnership between China and Russia as an affront to the rules-based international order, calling China a “systemic challenge” to the alliance.

Relations between China and Serbia, which is not a member of the EU, have strengthened under Xi’s leadership, even as China’s broader relationship with Europe has come into conflict over human rights issues and trade disputes. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Chinese state media in February that “Taiwan is China”, backing Beijing’s claim to the self-governing island.

Xi last visited Serbia in 2016, and according to state media reports that were on the trip, he also praised the citizens of both countries for their “fearlessness in the face of hegemonic power.”/TheGeopost/