China is walking along a very delicate path in its dealings with Russia over Ukraine.
Xi Jinping may feel like he’s confidently striding down the track but some think that the path is already crumbling at the edges, with Beijing’s claim to neutrality increasingly difficult to stand up.
The Communist Party here has dispatched its top foreign policy official to Moscow. He comes out of meetings proclaiming that China and Russia are together promoting “peace and stability”.
In other parts of the world, it seems ludicrous to use expressions like “peace and stability” on a trip to Russia before the first anniversary of that country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Now Wang Yi has said that some form of agreements will be signed during his trip to Moscow. Details have not been provided but we now know that he will sit down with Vladimir Putin today.