The Daily Populous Friday July 4th, 2025 day edition
Authored by kyivindependent.com and submitted by klissamane

This audio is created with AI assistance

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas on July 3 that the country cannot afford for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine amid fears the U.S. would shift focus towards Beijing, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing sources familiar with the conversation.

As the war in Ukraine drags on, Wang's reported comments suggest that Russia's war in Ukraine may serve China's strategic needs as focus is deviated away from Beijing's mounting preparation to launch its own possible invasion into Taiwan.

China has been a key ally to Russia during its full-scale war, helping Moscow evade Western sanctions and becoming the leading source of dual-use goods fueling the Russian defense industry.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has not managed to broker a promised ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv, has long viewed China as the United States' main adversary and is predominantly focused on relations between the two nations.

In June, Bloomberg reported Trump is pulling back from pressuring China over its support for Russia’s war effort, instead prioritizing other aspects of the U.S.-China relationship. The publication reported that the administration lowered the issue of Russia's war against Ukraine on its list of foreign policy priorities and is focusing on bilateral issues with Beijing, though they noted Trump could still shift course.

The frankness of Wang's reported admission was greeted with surprise by EU official, according to Hong Kong-based SCMP, amid China's past public statements in favor of a peace deal. Two sources familiar with the meeting told SCMP that they believed Wang was providing Kallas with a lesson in realpolitik during the four-hour encounter.

Wang on July 3 again reportedly rejected Western accusations that it was providing funding and weaponry to support Moscow's war effort in Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly accused Beijing of providing weaponry to Moscow. On May 29, Zelensky said that China had stopped selling drones to Ukraine and Western countries while continuing to supply them to Russia.

Wang's comments come amid waning support from Kyiv's main military backer, the United States. On July 1, the U.S. Defense Department paused shipments of key weapons systems to Ukraine, including Patriot air defense missiles and precision-guided munitions.

As Russian-Chinese relations continue to grow, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet Chinese President Xi Jingping in September in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

DDLM8964 on July 3rd, 2025 at 23:35 UTC »

They support Russians from the start, look at their propaganda.

needlestack on July 3rd, 2025 at 23:21 UTC »

That's unfortunate because the entire world cannot afford for Ukraine to lose.

And obviously China can afford Russia losing. It's a minor inconvenience compared to what will happen if this war results in spoils for Russia. It will be the start of a new century of death and destruction as we give up all the tenuous gains towards peace we've made in the past hundred years.

waldo--pepper on July 3rd, 2025 at 23:15 UTC »

Could Bejing have lived in a world in which Russia did not try to invade Ukraine? I think they could. And that is good. Because that is the world Ukraine and NATO are fighting to restore. China will have to adjust their "wrong thinking" and live with the consequences of Russian failure.