Taiwan Foreign Minister says China has fears over Russia’s ‘collapse’

Extraordinary claims have been made concerning China’s relationship with Russia throughout the ongoing Ukraine war.

China is afraid Russia could collapse amid pressure from the West over the war in Ukraine, Taiwan’s foreign minister has claimed.

Speaking in an interview that aired in Taipei this week, Joseph Wu said China has been placed under immense pressure following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. As several countries around the world rally against Moscow with a host of crippling economic sanctions, Beijing has remained neutral.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin this week said “China-Russia cooperation has no limits”, sitting in direct contrast to NATO superpowers who have openly condemned Vladimir Putin by cutting off ties to the Russian President.

Shortly before the invasion, China and Russia agreed upon an unprecedented 5,000-word statement, aligning the two northern hemisphere superpowers against NATO.

“The US believes that, to stop Russia‘s further invasion of Ukraine, China needs to stand with other democratic countries and draw a line between itself and Russia. This is putting China under great pressure,” Wu said on Wednesday.

“This pressure is being ramped up by the deputy secretary of state, the secretary of state, the national security adviser and now the president himself. It puts direct pressure on China’s leader.”

Wu said the US has regularly pushed China to take a more active role in ending the conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives in the first month as several Ukrainian cities lay in ruin.

The Taiwanese official believes Washington's communication with Beijing has not had the desired effect.

"The US’ demands are very clear. It wants to stop Russia's further destruction of Ukraine, and wants China to play a positive role by urging Russia to stop, or by condemning Russia's indiscriminate killing of innocent people. China does not accept this," Wu continued.

He believes due to the partnership, China has a vested interest in Russia’s success in Ukraine, warning Beijing

Taiwanese Foreign minister Joseph Wu says China will have fears Russia may ‘collapse’.

“We can think about it this way: if China sees Russia collapse, is that good or bad for them? I believe the Chinese government, and many Chinese people, might find that hard to take,” he said.

“If Russia collapses, China would be alone in facing Western scrutiny of its expansionism. Even if the Chinese government doesn‘t approve of Russia’s actions, it is difficult for them to put any sort of pressure on Russia. They are afraid Russia will collapse.”

Wu believes China is now in a delicate balancing act, ensuring the extent of their public “support” of Russia does not cause other headaches for them globally.

“They face a difficult situation,” he said. “I don‘t know whether the U.S. wants to see Russia collapse, but it does want Russia to feel the very serious consequences of its invasion of Ukraine.”

The development came as Moscow’s negotiators claimed Russia would “radically” reduce its military activity in northern Ukraine, including near the capital Kyiv, after “meaningful” talks in Istanbul.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has a difficult balancing act to perform after aligning his nation with Russia against NATO in February.

“Given that the talks on the preparation of an agreement on the neutrality and non-nuclear status of Ukraine have moved into a practical field. A decision has been made to radically reduce the military activity in the areas of Kyiv and Chernigiv,” Russia’s deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin said.

Chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said there had been a “meaningful discussion” at the talks and that Ukrainian proposals would be put to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He also said that Mr Putin could meet Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. “After today’s meaningful discussion we have agreed on and propose a solution, according to which the meeting of the heads of state is possible simultaneously with the foreign ministers initialling the treaty,” Mr Medinsky added.

“On the condition of quick work on the agreement and finding the required compromise, the possibility to make peace will become much closer.”

Even if the Chinese government doesn't approve of Russia's actions, it is difficult for them to put any sort of pressure on Russia. They are afraid Russia will collapse