Xi could offer to twist Putin’s arm to get what he wants on Taiwan

XI JINPING is looking to set down red lines on Taiwan and boost his country’s role in Ukraine-related talks as he reemerges on the world stage after his effective coronation as “ruler for life”.

The Chinese president has left the country only once since the pandemic began nearly three years ago.

But China has confirmed he will attend the G20 summit in Bali next week, where he is expected to hold talks with world leaders including Joe Biden, the US president and Emmanuel Macron, the French leader.

Beijing has made clear that he will be looking to assert his position that the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan belongs to China, something that is causing increasing consternation among the US and its allies.

Taiwan is “the core of China’s core interests”, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday, warning Washington to “stop blurring, hollowing out and distorting the one-China principle”. But Mr Xi is also expected to try to find ways to strengthen strained relations with Western powers by offering to use his close ties with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, who will not be attending G20, to become a negotiator in the Ukraine war.

“China could serve as a bridge and a connection” between nations, state-run newspaper Global Times said in an editorial this week on the subject. “China will play a crucial role if any agreement is to be achieved” in Mr Putin’s absence, the paper added, without referring to Ukraine by name.

He also wants to reaffirm China’s importance for the world economy and boost foreign trade and investment amid a slowdown of its economy owing in part to a zero-Covid policy.

The trip comes weeks after Mr Xi was given an unprecedented third term and bolstered his hold on power by placing allies and security-focused acolytes in the party’s top echelons.

“Xi Jinping wants to re-establish China as a major player on the world stage,” Willy Lam, an adjunct professor of Chinese politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said.

“Now that he has practically eliminated most of his enemies back home, he is anxious to seize the initiative to establish himself as a responsible stakeholder in the international order.

“Xi’s main ambition, of course, would be to be acknowledged as a rule setter of the international order.”

His meeting on Monday with the US president – their first in person since Mr Biden took office – will be closely watched for any signs of a rapprochement between the two nations.

Relations have plunged to a new low over Beijing’s alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and a years-long trade spat, with unfavourable views of China in the US reaching a new high of 82 per cent this year.

‘Xi is anxious to establish himself as a responsible stakeholder in the international order’