Trump warns: "We don't want Russia and China getting closer"
US President says partnership between Moscow and Beijing is not "natural" and seeks to weaken it with separate negotiations.
247 - US President Donald Trump has expressed concern about the growing rapprochement between Russia and China and revealed plans to improve American relations with the two powers, which are currently united against US interests on the global stage. This information comes from Bloomberg.
Trump warned of the dangers of a strong alliance between Moscow and Beijing. "As a student of history, which I am—and I've seen all this—the first thing you learn is that it's not desirable for Russia and China to get closer," the US leader stated shortly after concluding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Although he acknowledges the current closeness between China and Russia, Trump believes that the relationship between the two countries does not have a solid foundation: "They are probably friendly now, but we will be friendly with both," he assured.
Behind the scenes, analysts suggest that the strategy adopted by Trump resembles a "reverse Nixon" move, a reference to the US maneuvers during the Cold War to divide Russia from China, perpetrated during the administration of Republican Richard Nixon in the 1970s.
US Secretary of State thinks differently.
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had already ruled out that possibility in February, in an interview with Breitbart News, stating that the US objective is not to provoke friction between the two countries.
At the time, Rubio made it clear that Washington wants to prevent Moscow from becoming a subordinate partner of Beijing, but he cautioned: “I don’t know if we will ever completely succeed in distancing Russia from its relationship with the Chinese. However, I also don’t think it’s positive for global stability that Russia and China are in conflict, since both possess nuclear weapons.”
Trump's apprehension reflects a recent dynamic in international politics. The Russian-Chinese partnership has intensified considerably since President Xi Jinping declared, days before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, that his friendship with Putin would have "no limits." Since then, Beijing has secured crucial economic relief for Russia in the face of sanctions led by the United States and its allies.
The current American president attributed the rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing to decisions made during the administration of Democrat Barack Obama. According to Trump, misguided energy policies forced the two countries to unite, although he did not detail how this occurred. Trump believes previous governments gave unfair advantages to China, allowing the unrestricted use of coal while the US sought to advance a clean energy agenda.
Trump has not yet held any official talks with Xi Jinping. Economic relations with China remain tense, especially after the US government twice raised tariffs on Chinese goods.
“China needs us very much in terms of trade, but we need to address the trade deficit,” Trump explained to Fox News. “And Russia would like to count on some of our economic power.”
