China president Xi Jinping must use personal leverage on Vladimir Putin: Kevin Rudd

Former Australian PM warns China risks a ‘deeply adverse’ global reaction if it doesn’t counsel Vladimir Putin against unleashing a nuclear weapon.

New York-based former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is now Asia Society President. Picture: AFP

Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has warned China risks a “deeply adverse” global reaction if the country doesn’t counsel Vladimir Putin against unleashing a nuclear weapon.

Mr Rudd, now based in New York as president of the Asia Society, said China had a key role to play in warning Mr Putin of the consequences of unleashing a tactical nuclear weapon, posting an editorial in the South China Morning Post and conducting an interview on British Sky News.

Mr Rudd told the British audience there was deep concern over Mr Putin’s sabre-rattling on the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons, noting that China was one of Russia’s few friends, offering political, diplomatic and continued economic support.

“We have a huge interest in president Xi Jinping applying direct personal leverage on his Russian counterpart in order to ensure Putin does not use these weapons,” he said.

Mr Rudd said the global reaction against China in the event that Putin did use such a weapon “would be deeply adverse”. He noted how China in the past week had renewed efforts to evacuate its remaining citizens from Ukraine, “reflecting how real the (nuclear) threat has become in the minds of the Chinese’’.

He said “it is time for Beijing to act”, suggesting China and the United States agree on a joint statement with others at the UN on the non-use of all forms of weapons of mass destruction in and around Ukraine.

In the South China Morning Post, Mr Rudd wrote: “Among the Chinese foreign and security policy elite, it is generally agreed that Xi went too far in his joint statement during Putin’s February visit that the China-Russia strategic partnership now enjoys ‘no limits’.

“And while Chinese diplomats privately insist that they had no prior knowledge of Russia’s decision to violate the UN Charter by invading Ukraine and that Xi has personally encouraged Putin to seek a negotiated settlement, given the depth and duration of the Xi-Putin personal and political relationship, this is not accepted across the wider international community.”

Mr Rudd said that if China was seen as implicitly condoning Russia’s action, then as well as condemnation from others, some Asian countries could begin to acquire their own nuclear capabilities as they would be “increasingly fearful of proximity to a nuclear-armed China and North Korea in an era where the international political norm of decades of non-use of nuclear weapons had been shattered”.

He said Putin’s track record to effect his public threats meant his nuclear threats were to be taken seriously.

“The bottom line is that Xi now has the power, influence and, above all, an overriding national interest to intervene directly and urgently with Putin to prevent the unthinkable from happening,’’ Mr Rudd wrote.