China's defense minister applauds Putin for 'promoting world peace' amid Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine
- China's defense minister applauded Putin for "promoting world peace" as they met in Moscow.
- Putin is an accused war criminal responsible for the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is the lead architect of a devastating, unprovoked war in Ukraine that's killed or wounded hundreds of thousands, displaced millions, and pushed NATO into a heightened state of readiness. But according to a high-level Chinese official who visited Moscow this week, Putin should be recognized for contributing to "world peace."
As they met on Sunday in the Kremlin, China's defense minister, Li Shangfu, called Putin "an extraordinary state leader" and lauded the Russian president for his "important contributions to promoting world peace and development," per Bloomberg, which drew the comments from a clip posted on the China-based company NetEase Inc.'s short-video platform.
Li appeared to read from prepared remarks in the clip, Bloomberg reported, but the remarks were not included in the Kremlin's readout of the meeting or reporting from Chinese state media. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
The war in Ukraine — the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II — has left Ukrainian cities in ruins and wreaked havoc on the global economy. Russia has also faced widespread allegations of war crimes, and the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Putin's arrest last month.
Throughout, China has maintained warm, if somewhat aloof, ties with Russia — even as much of the world condemns Moscow over the ongoing invasion. As Europe curtails Russian energy imports in response to the war in Ukraine, China remains a major buyer. Beijing's rhetorical support for Moscow has remained steady since Putin ordered the invasion, but China has stopped short of sending ammunition or advanced arms like precision guided missiles that Russian forces desperately need.
In remarks broadcast on Russian TV, Li touted the "strong ties" between Russia and China as he met with Putin in the Kremlin, the Moscow Times reported.
"We have very strong ties. They surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War era," Li said, a period during which China and Russia had frosty relations and at one point nearly fought a war over a border dispute.
The Chinese defense minister's comments were indicative of the increasingly close relationship between China and Russia, which announced a "no limits" friendship last year, even as Beijing maintains that it has not picked a side in the war in Ukraine. Li visited Russia just weeks after Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Putin in Moscow.
The Institute for the Study of War, which has closely tracked the war in Ukraine, said that it previously assessed that "Putin was unable to secure a no-limits bilateral partnership with China during Xi's visit to Moscow, and it is likely that the meeting between Li and Putin did not further expand the scope of Russian-Chinese cooperation."
As the US and its allies have rallied behind Ukraine, providing it with billions in security assistance, Beijing has railed against Western sanctions slapped on Russia over the war and China's state-run media has echoed the Kremlin's anti-NATO propaganda.
Meanwhile, China in February unveiled a peace plan for the Ukraine war, which was met with major skepticism in Washington. The proposal does not call for Russia to pull its forces from occupied Ukrainian territories, which Kyiv has been adamant would be a prerequisite for a lasting peace.
This all comes amid historic tensions between Washington and Beijing over a range of issues, particularly Taiwan — the self-governing island democracy that China views as a breakaway province. Western leaders and officials have warned that China is closely watching the war in Ukraine in relation to its ambitions of gaining full control of Taiwan.