Xi arrives in Russia; Cai Qi heads general office; Research and investigation campaign; Football players detained for gambling
Xi arrives in Russia; Cai Qi heads general office; Research and investigation campaign; Football players detained for gambling
Summary of the Essential Eight:
Xi arrives in Russia - Xi arrived in Moscow Monday. Now we wait for the outcomes of the meetings. A signed article by Putin appeared in People’s Daily and a signed one by Xi ran in key Russian media. There has been some parsing of the differences in the two signed articles but I am cautious about trying to interpret those “tea leaves”. I would like to believe there will be some magical, practical plan for ending the awful war in Ukraine, but if the PRC is unable to condemn Russia illegal invasion and annexation of Ukrainian territory, and both sides continue to place all of the blame on the US, it is hard to be hopeful, and easy to be cynical.
Some commentary on the Xi-Putin meetings - An article from the Chaoyang Shaoxia Wechat account, I believe run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, titled "Why is China's leader going to Russia"? gives a likely indication of how the meetings are going to go. “The only one who can solve the problem is the one who creat…