OPINION

Xi clings to partnership with weakening Putin

Oped, Kent Harrington, Published on 22/07/2023

» Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin may have played his assigned role by reportedly meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on June 29. But notwithstanding the contrived show of unity, it will not have been lost on Chinese President Xi Jinping that Mr Prigozhin's highly public mutiny last month has profoundly weakened the Russian leadership. With Ukraine on a counteroffensive and Russia's battlefield losses mounting, Mr Xi's "no limits" partnership with Mr Putin is quickly morphing into a military liability for China.