China is the biggest beneficiary and the one who benefits the most from Russia's war against Ukraine. This was stated in an interview with Lb.ua by Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada and chairman of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, when asked whether experts are right to say that Beijing is behind the current wars in the world.
"This is reminiscent of the famous Chinese stratagem about a monkey sitting in a tree watching a tiger fight. This was the stratagem of Chinese foreign policy during the Cold War as well. The Chinese won then, too, and they were the beneficiaries," he said.
According to Merezhko, Russia's current war against Ukraine has shown the weakness of the Russian empire. "Both Russia and Putin were forced to go into China's arms. Russia is turning from a junior partner in this strategic 'partnership without limits' into a vassal that will be completely dependent on China. This is a political win for China," the MP stressed.
In his opinion, Beijing also hopes that Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine will, if not weaken Western countries, at least demonstrate their pain points and divert attention from Taiwan. "This is also a strategic win," Merezhko said.
He believes that China's key goal is to weaken the leader of the free world, the United States, discredit it and create a coalition of authoritarian states under its leadership.
"China perceives itself as a Middle Empire. Through infrastructure initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing is building a whole network for itself. For the United States and all democratic countries, this poses a great threat. It is no coincidence that major European countries, such as Germany and the UK, have created national strategies for China. Ukraine also needs to develop one," says the MP.
Merezhko is also assured that China's offer to join the reconstruction will be a real temptation for Ukraine. "Especially when China offers billions of dollars to rebuild the infrastructure, and, as the Americans say, without any conditions. But there is one problem, and I heard this from representatives of a Republican think tank in the United States. They told me that if Ukraine gives at least one contract to Chinese firms, you can forget about American economic assistance. We have to take this into account," explained the committee chairman.