The Trump administration is continuing negotiations with Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine, believing that this could help Washington in its confrontation with Beijing, Politico reports.
A US administration official told the publication that finding a “way to get closer to Russia“ could create “a different balance of power with China, which could be very, very beneficial“.
Ukraine is concerned about the idea of the US providing Russia with economic incentives for rapprochement as part of this “adventure”, a Ukrainian official said. According to him, many believe that Washington's plan has little chance of success. A Politico source recalled similar attempts in the past.
As the publication notes, this approach demonstrates the US government's position that China is the greatest geopolitical threat to the United States.
The State Department declined to comment to Politico, but a spokesperson previously said that the US administration is actively trying to mitigate the "national security threat" posed by China's economic ties to Latin American countries.
Alexander Gray, the chief of staff of the National Security Council during Trump's first term, compared the current administration's efforts to those of Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon, during the Cold War.
Kissinger organized Nixon's visit to China in 1972 in an attempt to weaken Beijing's relations with Moscow.
Fred Fleitz, another chief of staff of The National Security Council during Trump's first term believes that the American leader "correctly views the growing Russian-Chinese alliance as a far greater threat to US global security than the war in Ukraine, and therefore wants to find ways to improve US-Russian relations in order to weaken or destroy that alliance".
Trump himself has said that without the United States, Russia and China do not fear NATO. "The only thing China and Russia fear and respect is the United States restored by Donald Trump", he said.
US Secretary of State Macron Rubio acknowledged that Washington wants to weaken ties between Beijing and Moscow without provoking discord between the two countries. Rubio argued that if Russia becomes a "permanent junior partner" China, this would create problems for the United States, as it would be faced with two nuclear powers.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jien responded that US attempts to “set Moscow against Beijing“ were doomed. During a conversation in late February, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping noted that Russian-Chinese “foreign policy ties are a key stabilizing factor in world affairs, are not susceptible to external influence and are not directed against anyone”, the Kremlin said.