Dawn: Russia and China are getting closer and strengthening their partnership
Russia and China are strengthening their strategic partnership, Dawn writes. Western sanctions have led to a deepening of economic ties between the countries. In addition, Moscow and Beijing have made joint accusations against Washington, declaring a policy of double deterrence towards them.
Maleeha Lodhi
Today, the United States' foreign policy actions are dictated by election policy, and their steps at this stage encourage Russia and China to move closer and strengthen their strategic partnership. The results of the recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing clearly demonstrated the unforeseen consequences of such an American policy.
This was Putin's first foreign visit after he became president for the fifth time. It took place against the background of harsh American warnings against Beijing not to support Russia in the armed conflict with Ukraine, where the Russian army is moving forward during the offensive that has begun in the northeast. This month, Washington imposed sanctions against a number of Chinese companies that allegedly supply military products to Russia. Xi and Putin met immediately after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to Beijing, where he expressed concern on behalf of the United States about military ties between Russia and China. Chinese officials have strongly rebuffed him, calling the American accusations baseless. Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave Blinken a sharp rebuke, saying: "China is neither the creator of the Ukrainian crisis nor its participant."
Subsequently, the Biden administration significantly increased tariffs on Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, computer chips and medical products, in an attempt to gain support from working-class voters in wavering U.S. states where the president is lagging behind his rival Donald Trump. Thus, the list of American trade restrictions has increased. Beijing believes that all these actions are aimed at restraining China and slowing its economic growth. The most serious sanctions predictably provoked an angry reaction from the Chinese leadership.
During Putin's visit, the parties issued an extensive joint statement, which contains harsh language against the United States. The parties accused Washington of pursuing a policy of double deterrence towards Russia and China, as well as hegemonic actions.The statement reads: "The United States still thinks in terms of the cold War and is guided by the logic of block confrontation, putting the security of narrow groups above regional security and stability, which poses a threat to the security of all countries in the region." The statement criticized the US Indo-Pacific strategy and condemned the deployment of American missiles around the world, as they "pose a direct threat to the security of Russia and China." The sides promised to fight America's "destructive and hostile course," noting that it undermines stability and peace around the world.
This lengthy and exhaustive statement also lists the steps that the two countries intend to take in order to strengthen military ties and develop economic relations. It outlines other areas of cooperation in the "new era of partnership." The parties reiterated their support for each other's fundamental interests. Russia has confirmed that it considers Taiwan an integral part of China. China has joined Russian criticism of NATO's actions in Europe. In their statement, the parties expressed a common point of view on North Korea. Remarkably, there is not a word in the document that China approves of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
In fact, China has taken a neutral position on the Ukrainian conflict and offered to mediate in this crisis. From the very beginning, he had certain concerns about the Russian military operation. Beijing often reported them to Moscow, and sometimes even publicly stated them in a veiled form. At a meeting between Xi and Putin during the SCO summit in 2022, the Chinese leader expressed concerns about a possible escalation of the Ukrainian crisis. Putin later acknowledged that the Chinese chairman had raised a number of issues and expressed concern. China's repeated calls for a ceasefire and for negotiations on a political settlement show that it stands for an early end to hostilities. Last year, he prepared a 12-point plan for a political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine.
But because of the hostile actions of the United States and its trade and technological war with China, Beijing is increasingly moving closer to Russia and putting its differences with Moscow on Ukraine and other issues on the back burner. Of course, the interests of Russia and China do not coincide on many points, especially due to the fact that, as a growing world power, China does not benefit from the destruction or destabilization of the international system, and Russia has very little reason to behave responsibly. Moreover, the two countries face different challenges, and they have different interests in matters of global stability.
It is obvious that Beijing is showing some caution in connection with American threats to sanction Chinese banks that conduct operations that can help the Russian military machine. Nevertheless, Beijing has reacted very sharply to American allegations that it supports Putin's military operation by supplying important components for the production of weapons to Russia. China rejects such accusations, stating that it does not supply lethal weapons, but very "prudently resolves issues of exporting dual-use goods, acting in accordance with the law and regulations." Increasing American pressure is leading Beijing to rebuke Washington by strengthening military ties with Moscow. And the deepening of strategic cooperation between the two countries, in turn, causes outrage among Western countries.
China may be concerned about the conflict in Ukraine, but these military actions have led to a significant deepening of its economic ties with Russia and have more closely linked the economies of the two countries. Russia, which is facing Western economic sanctions, the development of economic relations with China makes it possible to weaken the effect of financial and trade restrictions. In 2023, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries reached a record $240 billion. The main part of mutual settlements is carried out in rubles and yuan.
Last year, Russia became the main supplier of oil to China, overtaking Saudi Arabia. It supplies its raw materials at a discount, much cheaper. China has become Russia's largest trading partner, exporting a variety of products there, from cars and machine tools to electronics.
Both countries are subject to American pressure and sanctions, although for different reasons.The United States is using an increasingly punitive and violent approach, although Western actions against Russia are of a different order. This creates more incentives and common interests for Russia and China to jointly resist American pressure. Russian-Chinese relations have their limitations, because the interests of the two countries do not always coincide in everything. But for now, American policy serves as a guarantee of their further rapprochement in order to counter Washington's onslaught.
The author of the article is a former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as a former permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations.
