Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against “expanding” military ties in a speech ahead of a virtual summit with leaders from Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa on Wednesday.
Beijing is hosting the meeting of the influential club of BRICS emerging economies, which account for more than 40 percent of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product.
Three of its members – China, India and South Africa – abstained from voting on a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Xi told the BRICS business forum that the “Ukraine crisis is… a wake-up call” and warned against “expanding military alliances and seeking one’s security at the expense of other countries’ security.”
China and India have strong military ties to Russia and buy large amounts of its oil and gas.
In a phone call last week, Xi reassured his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that China will support Moscow’s core interests of “sovereignty and security” – prompting the United States to warn Beijing that it risks becoming “on the wrong side of history.” land.
South Africa, one of the few African countries with diplomatic clout outside the continent, has not condemned the Russian military action either.
Xi took a dig at US and European Union sanctions on Russia in Wednesday’s speech, saying “sanctions are a boomerang and a double-edged sword.”
The heads of state and government of the Group of Seven (G7) will meet in Germany next week to discuss how to proceed with sanctions against Russia.
– “World Divided” –
The BRICS summit comes as Russian troops continue to infiltrate eastern Ukraine after invading the country four months ago.
China and India have both increased crude oil imports from Russia, helping offset losses incurred as Western nations scale back Russian energy purchases.
India bought six times more Russian oil in March-May than in the same period last year, while China’s imports tripled over the period, data from research firm Rystad Energy shows.
Beijing and Moscow, once bitter Cold War rivals, have intensified their cooperation in recent years.
President Putin was in Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in February, just days before the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing and Moscow also flew bomber planes over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, while US President Joe Biden was in Tokyo in late May – a sign of strong military ties between the two countries.
“The world was divided into East and West after the Ukraine war,” Manoj Joshi, a New Delhi-based author and geopolitical commentator, told AFP.
He added that BRICS provides a platform for Putin to work with emerging market leaders.
“It sends a message to the US and EU that they have failed to isolate him and Russia,” he said.
Analysts say Beijing will use the summit to boost its governance and development model at a time of global instability.
China said at a BRICS foreign ministers meeting in May that it would like other emerging economies to join the grouping, although it is unclear whether new members have been invited.
“Beijing wants to shape the BRICS agenda in line with … China-centric initiatives,” said Madhu Bhalla, professor and editor of India Quarterly magazine.
“The entry of other members … who follow the Chinese line will help steer the group’s agenda closer to the Chinese agenda,” she said.
#warns #expanding #military #alliances #BRICS #summit #state #media
