Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Russia is sleepwalking into becoming a client state for China as the invasion of Ukraine prolongs. As Russia faces increasing international sanctions, China is playing an increasingly larger role in providing the financing that Russia needs to fund its war.

China is exploiting the circumstances by buying cheap oil and gas from Russia while seeking ways to covertly fund Russia’s war on Ukraine to exhaust the US and its allies, and more importantly to pave the way to invade Taiwan.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is going to become a proxy war for China, in which Russia is the client state and China is the principal actor. Such proxy alignment is being formed based on various factors.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine compounding the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, most world leaders are not in an optimistic mood, as they face days of turmoil and economic stress.

Amid these challenges, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強), in his annual report to the Chinese National People’s Congress on March 5, said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims for “stability” in its relations with Taiwan and the world. Surprisingly perhaps, Li mentioned “stability” 81 times.

Li’s focus raised a few eyebrows, as China is typically a nation bent on growth. Granted, most countries seek stable economies — and few would choose “instability” — but why emphasize stability in this way?