The GuardianThe Guardian

Lukashenko’s planned Xi meeting shows gulf between China and the US

By Amy Hawkins

27 Feb 2023 · 3 min read

Editor's Note

The president of Belarus—a close Putin ally—will visit Beijing today to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping. As The Guardian reports, the visit is seen as "a sign of where China’s sympathies lie."

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus and close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, is due to visit Beijing on Tuesday for a meeting with Xi Jinping, in a high-profile trip symbolising the widening gulf between the US and China over the war in Ukraine.

US officials spent the weekend reiterating their concerns that Beijing is considering sending lethal weapons to Russia, amid China’s attempts to position itself as a peacemaker and deny that it would provide arms to Moscow.

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