|  | | On his first overseas trip since the pandemic began, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan and told President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev that he firmly supports safeguarding the Central Asian nation's "national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Kazakhstan has watched the Ukraine war with horror. Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces invaded Ukraine in the name of protecting ethnic Russians, a justification that could be applied to Kazakhstan one day.
Xi's choice of visiting Kazakhstan, as well as his emphasis on "territorial integrity," appears to have symbolic meaning.
The Chinese leader is keeping his distance from the Ukraine war. While his friendship with Vladimir Putin has geopolitical merit, Xi does not want to be seen as a supporter of the war, especially with Russian forces losing ground in eastern Ukraine.
When Putin met Xi in Uzbekistan the next day, the Russian leader said he understands China's concerns about Ukraine. Chinese state media did not report these words, though some Chinese news outlets did carry similar words Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Putin.
By introducing the problematic situation Putin is in, Chinese media subtly signaled a change in Beijing's diplomatic stance.
Read this week's China Up Close by Katsuji Nakazawa here.
|
|
| |
| More on China |  | State Department's Jose Fernandez signals further involvement in Asia through IPEF |
 | Talk of fourth term for general secretary puts 1965-and-later group in play |
 | Telecom equipment maker is partnering with fellow blacklisted companies |
 | Austin Li's low-key return to Alibaba's Taobao tests government reaction |
 | Expected U.S. interest rate hike sends currency to 7.0535 per dollar in China |
 | Indonesia, Philippines are bright spots but India, Pakistan faltering, says ADB |
|
| |
|         | |
| | |
| Discover the all new Nikkei Asia app   | |
| |
| |
