While Chinese President XI Jinping may couch his words politely, he is not likely to be \u201cinscrutable\u201d in warning the President of the possibility of a two-front war, if the situations in Ukraine and\/or Taiwan continue to escalate.<\/p>\n
Whether such a warning can get through Biden\u2019s elderly skull or the equally thick skulls of his adolescent advisers is, alas, a different matter. Those amateur advisers would have to give up their benighted view that they can drive a wedge between China and Russia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Best Friends \u201cStick Up\u201d for Each Other<\/strong><\/p>\n President XI has called Putin his \u201cbest friend\u201d. Elite, Ivy-mantled bureaucrats in Washington pooh-pooh that as rhetoric. One can only hope they avoid steps that make them learn the hard way to take the \u201crhetoric\u201d seriously.<\/p>\n When the planned Biden-Xi meeting was announced Wednesday<\/a>, Biden was asked whether the Chinese and the Russians are \u201cputting together a real alliance,\u201d Biden said<\/a>:<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a lot of respect that China has for Russia or for Putin. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re looking at it as a particular alliance. Matter of fact, they\u2019ve been sort of keeping their distance a little bit.<\/em><\/p>\n Keeping Their Distance<\/strong><\/p>\n I threw water<\/a> on the \u201ckeeping their distance\u201d claim a couple of days ago. Yesterday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman<\/a> was asked about China and Russia \u201ckeeping their distance.\u201d This was his reply:<\/p>\n I can tell you that China\u2019s relations with Russia are rock-solid. <\/strong>As each other\u2019s largest neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era<\/strong>, the two sides have always \u2026 advanced bilateral relations and cooperation in various areas on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. The long-term sound and steady advancement of China-Russia relations is primarily built on a high degree of mutual trust and strong internal dynamics<\/strong>. China will continue to work with Russia to move forward bilateral relations on a right and steady track. <\/em>[Emphasis added.]<\/p>\n An American specialist on China suggested to me that perhaps XI will also suggest that Biden learn the Serenity Prayer.<\/p>\n I had almost a half hour yesterday to set the stage<\/a> for Monday\u2019s summit in Bali.<\/p>\n