Xi at Russia's Victory Day parade — what it says of China's strategic priorities

The state visit is a telling contrast to the Chinese leader's response to an invitation from the EU.

- Jonathan Eyal

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives on May 7 for a state visit to Russia. He will be—by a long stretch—the most important leader attending Russia's May 9 military parade, held to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

All Western leaders are boycotting the event because they accuse Russia of using the Victory Day parade not to commemorate a previous war but to justify and glorify its current war against Ukraine.

However, Mr. Xi's arrival in Moscow signifies an explicit rejection of this Western accusation and a subtle message about China's strategic priorities in Europe.

The Chinese President recently turned down an invitation from the European Union to attend a summit marking the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Beijing and the continent. He pleaded a clash of diary commitments despite the fact that the Europeans were ready to be flexible about the date of such a visit.

So, watching Russian tanks rolling across Red Square in Moscow is considered by Mr. Xi as a more significant event than sitting down to a summit with the leaders of the EU's 27 member-states, who account for a bigger share of China's global trade than the United States.

But Mr. Xi is correct in assessing his country's priorities. For the bond forged between Russia and China since the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022 represents one of the most significant global strategic developments. And its importance only increases as efforts intensify to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine. Russia and China now look beyond the Ukraine war.