A pair of visits this week made plain the cleavage in global politics.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s three days with Russian President Vladimir Putin and their pledge of still closer ties posed a stark contrast to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s quick trip to Kyiv and Bucha, during which he condemned the invasion and promised to support the struggling country. Ukraine is the focal point when comparing the two meetings, but the fight for its survival symbolizes a more fundamental split over the future of the global order.
The world had been anticipating the Xi trip, a meeting that was expected to expand the “partnership without limits” that he and Putin announced days before the invasion of Ukraine when Putin visited Beijing last year. Since the war began, Beijing has been Moscow’s strongest ally and supporter, backing the Russian explanation of the conflict, providing diplomatic cover and helping Putin avoid isolation as the rest of the world condemned the invasion.