German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will attempt to use his trip to China to drive a wedge between Beijing and Moscow — but has little chance of achieving success, noted Russian senator Alexey Pushkov.
“Scholz is in Beijing. He will take another shot at trying to alienate China from Russia, which presumably will end in the same way as previous attempts made by [Emmanuel] Macron, [Ursula] von der Leyen and [Janet] Yellen," Pushkov posted on his Telegram channel. "Unlike Russia, the West is potentially hostile to China. No amount of negotiations will change this.”
The Russian politician recalled that the US has been pushing the “China threat” narrative, designating Beijing as a strategic challenge. He said that in such a situation, succumbing to pressure from the West would only go against Russia's interests.
China has played host to several Western leaders over the past few months, all of them trying to balance their own trade concerns with their stated geopolitical agenda. Olaf Scholz is the latest, arriving on Sunday in China with a bulky delegation of German business representatives in his wake.
Olaf Scholz's visit coincides with the arrival of Daniel J. Kritenbrink, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs to the People's Republic of China.
He will be accompanied by Sarah Beran, US President Joe Biden’s top China adviser on the National Security Council. The visit is "part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and to responsibly manage competition,” according to a statement from the US State Department.
The flurry of diplomatic outreach heavily doused with belligerent rhetoric comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, sending a strong message to the West that the two countries will not deviate from their strategic partnership.