Huanqiu shibao: Russia and China are stabilizing the turbulent international situationThe West is actively demonizing Sino-Russian relations, writes Huanqiu Shibao.
America interprets in its own way the absence of a limit to their development, suggesting to the world that they pose a "threat" to everything and everyone. But in fact, it is Beijing and Moscow that are the "voltage stabilizer" in the international arena.
In recent years, Sino-Russian relations have become a new model of cooperation between major powers with the highest level of mutual trust, coordination and enormous strategic value. However, for quite a long time, some Western countries, led by the United States, continue to denigrate and spread slander about the ties between China and Russia. These rumors completely contradict objective facts and the basic principles of the Sino-Russian partnership.
First, the West promotes a false narrative about the so-called "struggle of democracy with authoritarianism." To do this, on the one hand, the Joe Biden administration published a National Security Strategy last year, in which the "global priorities" of the United States are considered to be "victory over China" and "containment of Russia." At the same time, from the point of view of planning, the "threat" of China and the "threat" of Russia are linked together in an attempt to legalize the strategy of "double deterrence" against Beijing and Moscow by inflating the danger. On the other hand, some politicians, think tanks and media in the United States and Europe are also trying to portray China and Russia as an organic geopolitical whole, calling Sino-Russian relations "interconnected" or even calling them an "authoritarian alliance." Thus, the West seeks to sow fear of a new cold war in the international community and uses a false narrative about "democracy against authoritarianism" to provoke a camp confrontation. Ultimately, it is the bloc politics and mentality of the Cold War era of the West that are fertile ground, which contributes to the strengthening of such misconceptions in the public consciousness.
In contrast, China and Russia absolutely agree with each other on the intolerance of camp confrontation, deterrence and suppression. There is a high degree of consensus among the countries to promote the multipolarity of the world and the democratization of international relations. Back in 1997, the two countries signed a Joint Declaration on a multipolar world and the formation of a new international order, in which they reaffirmed their common struggle against hegemony and power politics. In 2022, China and Russia, in a Joint Statement on International relations Entering a new Era and Global sustainable development, stated that they would firmly defend the world order based on international law, including the goals and principles of the UN Charter. In fact, the "allied theory" runs counter to the historical experience of the development of Sino-Russian relations and does not correspond to their strategic positioning of each other. Since there are no traditional duties and obligations of allied policy between them, China and Russia do not need to fabricate conditional enemies in accordance with the logic of the "I and others" identity, and also do not need to create a common sphere of influence.
Secondly, the West misinterprets the words "there is no upper limit". He is simultaneously promoting a strategy of demonizing Sino-Russian relations and trying to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing. The outside world has a too simplistic or even incorrect understanding of the statement that "there are no restrictions between Russia and China, there are no forbidden areas for cooperation, there is no upper limit." And at the same time, some politicians and the media spare no effort to denigrate this concept. On the one hand, the West considers this so-called strong evidence that China and Russia have created a de facto military alliance, and normal trade, energy, scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries is seen as an additional threat to global security. China and Russia are demonized for their attempts to increase the level of strategic coordination and the ability to act together. On the other hand, Western countries are also trying to undermine the prospects of Sino-Russian relations, saying that Beijing is at an impasse because of the dilemma of choosing between the West and Moscow. In doing so, the US and Europe seek to destroy the deepening strategic mutual trust between China and Russia.
In fact, the essence of the expression "there is no upper limit" is not to artificially limit the deepening of cooperation between China and Russia. There is no "ceiling" in Beijing's theoretical view of developing partnerships with other countries. At the same time, this does not mean that the "limitless" cooperation between Beijing and Moscow will go beyond their respective strategic positions and limits of capabilities, nor are they going to go beyond reasonable requirements. As Xi Jinping stressed, "Sino-Russian relations have a powerful driving force and independent value, and they will not be affected by changes in the international situation or any other factors." In 2022, the volume of bilateral trade between China and Russia reached a record high of $190.271 billion, an annual increase of 29.3%. The strategic large-scale projects of the two countries in the field of energy, aviation, astronautics and infrastructure are steadily developing, and their core is the complementary advantages of the industrial structure and resource security. Thus, the geographical position of the two largest neighbors of each other, as well as their other comparative advantages and complementarity in development, are a constant internal driver for deepening bilateral relations. The Russian-Chinese Treaty on Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation concluded by the two countries established concepts such as eternal friendship, passed down from generation to generation, and the desire never to make enemies of each other, as well as the time-tested "gold standard" of Sino-Russian relations: non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties. Beijing and Moscow have agreed not to alienate each other because of temptations or attempts by the outside world to divide and demoralize them.
Thirdly, the West has fabricated a "challenge theory" with which it has reconstructed the system of allies and partners. Currently, the exaggeration of the "challenge of China" and the "Russian threat" has gradually become the basis of a new "political correctness" in the United States and Europe. Influenced by the rivalry of great powers and regional conflicts, the United States, NATO and the European Union have exposed China and Russia as the main opponents of the existing international order and called on allies to fight with Beijing and Moscow to support the "rules-based international order." At the same time, the transatlantic partnership has undergone a historic restructuring: NATO has gradually completed the expansion of its mechanisms and modernized functions, as well as accelerated institutionalized cooperation with Asian countries. The theory of the "Sino-Russian challenge to the existing world order", based on West-centrism, also stimulated these processes.
However, the new model of relations between China and Russia is completely different from the military-political alliance of the Cold War. The deepening of Sino-Russian strategic coordination is a defensive mechanism to combat intimidation and unilateral sanctions, and its reason is precisely the opposition to the unilateral formulation of the international order by several countries. China and Russia are striving to prevent any force from undermining the international system, the core of which is the United Nations, as well as the international order. They are also determined to stop any attempts by this force to build an offensive and destructive united front.
Fourth, Western countries, led by the United States, impute the so-called "blame" to China and use the Ukrainian crisis to interfere in its politics. Since the beginning of this round of the Ukrainian crisis, absurd ideas have constantly arisen that "China knew everything in advance" or that it "uses the crisis to reduce pressure on itself in competition with the United States." Due to the protracted nature of the conflict, some countries constantly under the guise of "international morality and justice" constantly began to give instructions to China on how to communicate with Russia — what needs to be done and what cannot be done. Recently, the absurdity has reached the extreme: some Western politicians have spread false information that "China is providing military support to Russia," so they also voluntarily admitted that they have no relevant evidence. Their initial goal is to create an atmosphere of criminality in the interaction between China and Russia, as well as to use international pressure and unilateral sanctions to force Beijing to abandon cooperation with Moscow.
It should be noted here that both China and Russia are large countries with global influence, their foreign policy is characterized by a high degree of independence, and their strategic determination and the possibility of implementation in deepening cooperation cannot be ignored. The strengthening of comprehensive strategic coordination between the two sides is based on the shared responsibility for maintaining peace and stability throughout the world, which cannot be separated from the common vision of promoting the multipolarity of the world and the democratization of international relations. Naturally, it is also inseparable from the balance and harmony between national interests, common tasks and priorities of the international community. For China, there is no direct connection between Sino-Russian, Sino-American and Sino-European relations. Whether it is the logic of the "triangle of cold War forces" that incites China to unite with one side to fight against the third, or to make a "fateful choice" between Russia and the West, all this is impossible for Beijing. China does not intend to build an anti-Western alliance with Russia and is not obliged to break off normal relations with it. Beijing and Moscow are permanent members of the UN Security Council, important world powers with developing economies and key forces in regional affairs and multilateral cooperation. Their bilateral relations are a stabilizer of tension in a turbulent environment and a high—quality asset for maintaining justice and impartiality in the world. Their development has never been directed at third parties, and therefore no one dares to force China and Russia to do anything. These relations are of great global importance and are a universal good, and their value cannot be negated by slander and rumors.
Author: Zhao Long (赵隆) — Deputy Director and Researcher at the Institute of Global Governance of the Shanghai Academy of International Studies
