In March 2022, the USA opposed the transfer of Soviet MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine by Poland. Instead, China promised that it would do everything possible to "neutralize Putinʼs nuclear threat."
The Spectator writes about this with reference to its own sources.
At first, the USA reacted positively to Polandʼs idea to transfer its Soviet MiG-29 fighters to the Ukrainian army. But the very next day, March 8, the Americans opposed such a transfer.
The reason for this was contacts with the generals of the Chinese army. They believed that this would lead to an escalation of the conflict, so they called on the USA to prevent it. Instead, the Chinese generals, who had good private contacts with Russian generals, promised to do everything possible to "neutralize Putinʼs nuclear threat." Their efforts were aimed at persuading Russian generals, if ordered, to use nuclear weapons, or to persuade the political leadership not to do so, in accordance with Russiaʼs nuclear doctrine, or to sabotage the execution of the order at their own level.
Since then, China has continued non-public contacts with the West, especially the USA and NATO, regarding the war in Ukraine. Currently, there is a mutual agreement between them not to escalate the conflict: the West does not give Ukraine strategic weapons, and China uses all the levers of influence on Russia to prevent the use of nuclear weapons.
- On November 14, Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with the U.S. President Joe Biden in Indonesia on the sidelines of the G20 summit held in Bali. Earlier, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang emphasized the "irresponsibility" of nuclear threats.
- The Financial Times reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not warn Chinese President Xi Jinping about Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. 20 days before the start of full-scale war against Ukraine, Xi and Putin officially welcomed the "boundless" partnership between their countries during a meeting in Beijing. But Xi was caught off guard by Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine because Putin did not warn him in advance, according to four people with knowledge of the meeting.