WSJ-Xi Planning Russia Trip In Spring: Sources

WSJ reportsthat Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning to visit Russia in the spring, according to its sources.

• WSJ: "Beijing says it wants to play a more active role aimed at ending the conflict, and the people familiar with Mr. Xi’s trip plans said a meeting with Mr. Putin would be part of a push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used."
• Ahead of the invasion of Ukraine, Xi and Putin met while Beijing hosted the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. There, Xi said the Sino-Russian partnership had “no limits”. However, the erratic Russian conduct in war has seen China become less forthright in its support for Russia, notably pushing for de-escalation when Russian officials use nuclear rhetoric.
• Comes as the US issues warnings to Bejing to refrain from supplying military hardware to Russia for use in its invasion of Ukraine. Speaking after the Munich Security Conference US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that, “...we have information that gives us concern that [China] are considering providing lethal support to Russia in the war against Ukraine...It was important for me to share very clearly with [senior Chinese diplomat] Wang Yi that this would be a serious problem,”