Putin’s pal rages, ‘Is China our motherland now?’
Kremlin insider Vladimir Solovyov breaks ranks to tear into Russia’s ‘best friend’ with a stinging attack
It appears there are limits to Russia’s “no-limits” relationship with China. Despite the friendly smiles between the world’s two biggest autocrats, President Vladimir Putin and Supreme Leader Xi Jinping, cracks are starting to appear behind the scenes.
Moscow has relied on Beijing to bail it out after the illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a raft of sanctions on Putin’s regime. The United States and its allies have frozen billions of dollars in assets along with an oil and gas embargo.
With Russia’s economy strangled, China rode to the rescue, securing rock-bottom energy deals. It also flooded the Russian market with cheap exports, such as electric vehicles, and dual-purpose high-tech components for the Kremlin’s war machine.
But now there appears to be a rift in the partnership after an outspoken critique by Vladimir Solovyov, a close Putin ally. On his popular evening show, he reported on a trip to the Russian frontline and was stunned by the reaction from the troops.
“[Instead of asking for more tanks and personnel carriers, they wanted] large quantities of electric scooters, motorbikes, motorcycles, and buggies,” Solovyov, the face of Russian propaganda, said.
“The question is, which of them do we make domestically? Or is China our motherland now? How much does it cost? When will everyone finally come to their senses? We are oversaturated with China,” he told his TV audience as reported by Newsweek.
China is a lifeline for [Russia’s] wartime economy.
Philipp Ivanov, of the consultancy Geopolitical Risks + Strategy Practice
The surge:
- China’s exports to Russia jumped 4.76% in June, compared to just 0.92% in May.
- Still, it was lower than the double-digit growth at the start of 2024.
- As for Russian exports to China, they fell 6.7% during the same period.
- Electronics, machinery, and factory equipment beefed up China’s export push.
Delve deeper: The latest wave of US sanctions on Chinese companies has forced Moscow and Russian firms to pay in advance of delivery. Bottlenecks in supply chains have seen shipping costs rise by 15%.
Between the lines: “For Russia, besieged by sanctions, China is a lifeline for its wartime economy,” Philipp Ivanov, of the consultancy Geopolitical Risks + Strategy Practice, told the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle or DW.
Big picture: Indeed, Putin’s war is being propped up by big brother Xi. “Russia would not have enough trucks, chips, drones or intermediate goods without Beijing,” Alicia Garcia-Herrero, of French investment bank Natixis, pointed out.
China Factor comment: Kremlin insiders might not like it but without China’s economic muscle, Russia would have suffered another Afghanistan debacle in the Ukraine. Now is the time for major democracies to ratchet up the pressure on Comrade Xi until the pips squeak.