Russian President Vladimir Putin did not warn Chinese leader Xi Jinping about his intentions to attack Ukraine. However, he stated that Russia would be ready to respond in case of an attack on its territories.
As of Financial Times , citing his source in the Chinese government, Putin told Xi Jinping that Russian forces could respond if the Ukrainian army launched an attack on Russia, but at the same time he was silent about plans for a full-scale invasion.
"Moscow did not inform Beijing about its intention to launch a special operation in Ukraine. Before Putin gave the corresponding order," the newspaper writes.
Now the Chinese government is talking about mistrust of the Russian president personally.
The FT noted that China assumes a scenario in which Russia will emerge from the conflict with Ukraine as an economically and politically weakened "second-rate state."
Because of the invasion, they even demoted the deputy foreign minister of China, because he could not predict the Russian invasion of Ukraine
China's main diplomatic goal is to improve relations with Western countries after a period of isolation. In particular, it is planned to restore relations with Europe, which suffered due to Beijing's support for Russia after the start of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
