WSJ: Putin Was Xi’s Role Model. Now He’s the Junior Partner
Russia’s trade with China has nearly doubled since the war began, while Beijing has used sanctions to press for cheaper energy and new concessions.
- More than four years of war and economic isolation have transformed Vladimir Putin from Xi Jinping's 'role model' into a junior partner, with China's economic leverage over Russia surging to nearly 40 percent of trade.
- During his Beijing visit in May, Putin sought the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline deal but failed to secure it, though he signed 42 other agreements; China conditioned approval on Russia selling gas at below-market domestic prices.
- In the past year, Moscow accepted the Chinese yuan as the primary currency for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Development Bank, reversing a decade-long resistance; Chinese goods simultaneously inundated Russian markets, deepening economic dependence.
- Beijing's influence extends beyond economics to diplomacy: China forced Putin to add Vietnam to his 2024 itinerary to avoid an 'axis of authoritarians' narrative, while Xi visited Pyongyang in June to reassert regional primacy.
- China is quietly cultivating Russian elites beyond the Kremlin to ensure long-term influence. Historian Sergei Radchenko, professor at Johns Hopkins University, noted: "You don't use your position as the senior partner to humiliate the junior partner.
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8 Articles
WSJ: The leader Xi Jinping once called his ‘role model’ is now Beijing’s supplicant, and China is making Putin wait for the gas deal Moscow badly needs
More than four years of war and economic isolation have shifted the balance in Russia’s relationship with China. Vladimir Putin, once a “role model” for Xi Jinping, has become a supplicant and junior partner, The Wall Street Journal reports. Both sides are working to project an image of a strong and equal alliance. But the partnership rests on a narrow foundation, the newspaper notes, and Russia and China have far more grounds for disagreement than may be apparent. Meduza recaps the key points of the piece, which explains how far the balance has tipped toward Beijing and where the friction is showing.
Beijing, 14 Jul. (Adnkronos) - "Once Xi Jinping (who in 2013 chose Moscow as the first capital to visit as leader, ed) admired Vladimir Putin, now manages it," writes the Wall Street Journal. "Four years of war and economic isolation reduced the Russian president to a supplicant in an increasingly unbalanced relationship, and sometimes tense," he emphasizes, citing the failure to agree on the Siberia 2 Potenza pipeline during Putin's 14th visit …
The relationship between Russia and China has changed significantly in recent years, and Moscow no longer holds the position of equal partner in relation to Beijing. According to an analysis published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Vladimir Putin has become increasingly dependent on China and its leader, Xi Jinping.
After four years of war in Ukraine and economic isolation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost his once-high standing in the eyes of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Relations between the two countries have become increasingly unequal and at times tense, writes The Wall Street Journal.
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