Hong Kong CNN —
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko – a close ally of Vladimir Putin – vowed to deepen defense and security ties and expressed common views on the war in Ukraine at a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday amid geopolitical tensions related to Russia’s war continue to increase.
Lukashenko endorsed China’s recent position on a “political settlement” to the conflict, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry pick from the meeting, referring to a statement released by Beijing last week that called for peace talks to end the conflict but was not urging a Russian Withdrawal from Ukraine – which makes Western leaders skeptical.
Both Xi and Lukashenko expressed “deep concerns about the ongoing armed conflict” and look forward to an “early return to peace in Ukraine,” according to a joint statement after sitting in the Great Hall of the People, where Xi met Lukashenko welcomed a ceremony alongside a phalanx of Chinese troops.
The visit of the Belarusian leader – who last year allowed Russian troops to use Belarus for their first incursion into Ukraine – comes as tensions between the US and China have escalated in recent weeks, including concerns by Washington that Beijing is considering sending deadly aid to the Kremlin’s fighting war effort.
Beijing has denied these claims, instead trying to portray itself as an impartial agent of peace – in contrast to the United States, which has been accused of “pouring fuel on the conflict” and damaging the global economy with sanctions against Russia.
Speaking about the war at Wednesday’s meeting, Xi called on “relevant countries” to “stop the politicization and instrumentalization of the global economy” and act to contribute to the “peaceful resolution of the crisis,” in an apparent reference to the US and its allies.
The joint statement underscored the consensus between Minsk and Beijing when it comes to their opposition to what they see as a Western-led world order, with their joint statement including a rejection of “any form of hegemonism and power politics, including the imposition of illegal unilateralism, sanctions and restrictive.” Measures against other countries.”
China and Belarus, which have also been the target of heavy Western sanctions after Russia’s invasion, would also strengthen their cooperation in a number of economic areas, the statement said.
They also pledged to “deepen cooperation” on training military personnel, fighting terrorism and “collaborating to prevent the ‘color revolution'” – a reference to popular pro-democracy movements autocrats claim are being spearheaded by Western governments get supported.
The meeting, which Chinese state media described as “warm and friendly,” was the first in-person meeting of leaders since ties expanded into an “all-weather strategic partnership” on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. last September in Uzbekistan, which Putin also attended.
“Today we will jointly lay out new visions for the development of bilateral ties… Our long-standing friendly exchanges will keep our friendship unbreakable,” Xi said of Lukashenko during the meeting, according to Chinese state media. He also advocated for Belarus to become a full member of the China-Russia-led SCO, where it is currently an observer state.
On the same day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of Uzbekistan, also a member of the SCO, said that China “cannot have it both ways” by “publicly posing as a force for peace” while continuing to “stoke the flames of this fire.” that Vladimir Putin sparked.”
Blinken said there are “some positive elements” in China’s peace proposal, but accused China of doing the opposite of supporting peace in Ukraine “in terms of its efforts, Russian propaganda and misinformation about blocking and fighting the war to advance for Russia”.
He also reiterated Western concerns that China was considering providing lethal aid to Russia, and later said he had no plans to meet with Russians at a G20 meeting of foreign ministers scheduled for March 2 in New Delhi, India or to meet Chinese counterparts.
The tightening of Minsk-Beijing ties is also accompanied by a years-long decline in Belarus’ relations with the West.
The former Soviet state was targeted by the US and its allies with sweeping sanctions in response to Moscow’s aggression after Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to enter Ukraine across the 1,000-kilometer Ukraine-Belarus border north of Kiev.
Nor does the European Union recognize the results of Lukashenko’s 2020 election victory – which sparked mass pro-democracy protests in the country and was followed by government crackdowns. The US has also called the election “fraudulent”.
During the conflict in Ukraine, there were fears that Belarus could once again serve as a launching pad for another Russian offensive, or that Lukashenko’s own forces would intervene in the war. Ahead of his visit to Moscow earlier this month, Lukashenko claimed there was “no way” his country would send troops to Ukraine unless it was attacked.
Like China, Belarus has previously indicated that the US does not want to see the conflict end.
In comments to reporters earlier this month before traveling to Moscow to meet Putin, Lukashenko claimed he wanted to see “peaceful negotiations” and accused the United States of preventing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from negotiating.
“The US is the only one that needs this carnage, they only want it,” he said.