“Increasing interaction in key areas”: how Russia and China strengthen strategic partnership

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that trade between Russia and China could soon reach $200 billion. He announced this during a meeting with the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Li Zhanshu at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

“Our strategic partnership is developing and developing very successfully.

Trade turnover is growing: last year it grew significantly, by 36%, has already reached $140 billion, continues to grow and has grown by another 30% in the first half of the year.

And apparently, we will indeed soon reach $200 billion in turnover, as we wanted,” the Russian leader said.

He also said that Li Zhanshu's visit underlines the special nature of Russian-Chinese relations.

In turn, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China said that in recent years, "the Chinese-Russian comprehensive strategic partnership and interaction has demonstrated a strong momentum of development."

Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui also said that China and Russia are increasing cooperation and strengthening mutual support.

“In the face of serious and difficult trials, China and Russia are continuously strengthening their mutual support, deepening cooperation in the development of mutual interests.

Cooperation between our countries is moving forward even more,” the diplomat said, speaking via video link at the WEF session.

According to him, trade and investment are developing rapidly.

“For 12 years, China has been Russia's main partner.

From January to July of this year, the trade turnover between our countries reached $97.7 billion, an increase of 29%.

Imports to China from Russia grew by 49%,” the ambassador said.

He also reported on new victories in the sphere of Russian-Chinese strategic projects.

In particular, he recalled the opening of traffic on the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe automobile bridge in June, and also said that the launch of the Nizhneleninskoye-Tongjiang railway bridge is expected during the year.

Zhang Hanhui noted that other major joint projects of the Russian Federation and China are also successfully developing, including infrastructural and in the field of nuclear energy.

The ambassador said that even greater potential is manifested in the cooperation between Russia and China in new areas.

“This is trade in basic goods in the oil and gas, coal, and agricultural industries.

Also cooperation in the field of digital economy, green low-carbon economic development.

We are looking for new growth points, looking for new drivers for development and cooperation, including in the field of e-commerce, cultural tourism, and transportation,” Zhang Hanhui added.

• Embassy of China in Russia

• RIA News

• © Evgenia Novozhenina

According to him, the dynamics of the development of cooperation between the Russian Federation and China demonstrates a high level and stability.

“I am sure that we will deepen, increase the scale of our cooperation, continuously promote our practical partnership to a new level,” the ambassador emphasized.

Military-political ties

It is worth noting that Russia and China are building up cooperation not only in the economic sphere.

Thus, on August 5, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, announced Beijing's readiness to strengthen strategic cooperation with Moscow.

According to him, in this way the parties can more effectively defend the international system, in which the UN plays a key role, as well as an order based on international law.

Wang Yi noted that Russia still follows the principle of one China and opposes any encroachment on the sovereignty of the PRC.

Recall that Moscow condemned the visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, calling it a "clear provocation" by Washington.

At the same time, China supported Russia, saying that it did not consider correct the attempts of a number of Western countries to exclude the Russian Federation from international negotiations.

In addition, the parties are building up cooperation in the military sphere.

Thus, in mid-August, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe called China's ties with Russia a model of interaction between two major powers without the formation of hostile blocs.

“Chinese-Russian relations are at a high level.

The growing level of mutual trust between the armed forces of our two countries, strategic interaction and practical cooperation set an excellent example of bilateral relations based on the principles of non-alignment with blocs, non-confrontation and non-direction against third countries,” Wei Fenghe said.

The fact that the Russian Federation and China do not intend to build relations directed against anyone else was also announced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on September 1.

On the same day, the Russian exercises Vostok-2022 began, in which China takes part.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the ships of the two countries as part of a joint detachment have already carried out air defense maneuvers, in particular, they repelled a mock enemy air raid by firing artillery at air targets.

In addition, the forces of the Russian and Chinese navies destroyed a model of a floating sea mine, and also conducted exercises involving the naval aviation of the two countries.

The Vostok-2022 maneuvers took place at seven ranges of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as in the waters and coastal zones of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Sea of ​​Japan.

The exercises ended on 7 September.

In addition to Russia and China, other countries also participated in them.

In total, over 50 thousand military personnel, more than 5 thousand pieces of weapons and military equipment, including more than 140 aircraft and about 60 warships, were involved in the exercises.

• Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy ship in the northern Sea of ​​Japan

• RIA News

• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

As Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov told reporters, in connection with these exercises, the media in the West express many fears about the formation of an alleged military alliance between Moscow and Beijing.

However, the Russian Federation and China are not striving for this, the diplomat noted.

“We have gone up (in some areas.

), as they say, to relations that may be even higher than allied ones in some areas, which is also expressed not by emotional factors or political calculations, but by objective necessity and with ours, and from the Chinese side,” Denisov said.

mutual interest

As Alexei Maslov, director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University, noted in a commentary to RT, the bilateral partnership between Russia and China in many areas of interaction is at the highest level, "than ever before."

“Judging by the figures given by the Chinese Ambassador to the Russian Federation, it is obvious that by the end of the year the growth in bilateral trade will reach a record.

The very structure of trade relations became more diverse: Russian agricultural products went to the PRC, scientific and technical exchange intensified.

China began to buy more oil and gas from Russia.

Parts for automobiles and products of the chemical industry are sent from the PRC to the Russian Federation.

The interest of the businesses of the two countries in each other has increased markedly,” the expert said.

• Automobile bridge Blagoveshchensk - Heihe

• RIA News

• © Evgeny Podolsky

Maslov also noted that, in addition to trade and the economy, we are talking about deepening Russian-Chinese ties in a strategic sense.

“The Russian Federation and China are working on common programs of geopolitical development.

We have joint interests in the military-strategic sphere, in cybersecurity.

China understands that Russia is the only major ally interested in normalizing international relations and creating a new climate of openness.

Beijing and Moscow together oppose the sanctions policy of the West,” the analyst said.

According to the scientific director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Lukin, one of the factors for a more intensive increase in cooperation between Russia and China is the actions of Washington, which intends to simultaneously confront Beijing and Moscow.

“It only brings Russia and China closer together.

In a situation where the collective West, led by Washington, is taking anti-Russian measures, various sanctions against the Russian Federation and at the same time increasing pressure on China, Moscow and Beijing are even more rapidly building up cooperation in key areas, ”Lukin stated in a conversation with RT.

As Maslov noted for his part, Washington will seek to drive a wedge between Russia and China.

“For example, by proposing the abolition of increased tariffs on Chinese goods or threatening Chinese companies with secondary sanctions.

But China understands that it is impossible to build an independent economy, a sovereign policy, obeying someone's order.

Therefore, the PRC consistently proceeds from its own interests.

And in this regard, it is hardly necessary to say that Washington can somehow interfere with the rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing, ”the expert said.

A similar opinion is shared by Lukin.

According to him, so far Washington only contributes to building up cooperation between Russia and China.

If the US tries to extend anti-Russian sanctions to Chinese companies, it will hit the US economy hard, since Washington and Beijing still have a strong connection in this area. 

“There is still a risk that Washington could stop the activities of some Chinese company if it forbids them from using American banks.

But on this track in the Russian Federation and China are already working.

Now, in connection with this, the process of de-dollarization of trade between China and Russia is actively taking place, that is, payments are made in Chinese yuan.

And then they will gradually leave this dependence, ”the analyst explained.

Lukin notes that the PRC is interested in this, since it is beneficial for it to increase interaction with the Russian Federation in the field of economy and in other areas.

“China is a huge economy that needs raw materials to produce.

And Russia plays a big role here.

The Russian Federation is now selling oil to China at a significant discount from the market price.

And not only China benefits from this, but also Russia, which, due to the growth in sales, also increases its revenue, ”the expert said.

Maslov believes that the Russian Federation and China will continue to build up and deepen bilateral partnership at a rapid pace, since this is beneficial to both sides.

“Firstly, this is the opening of new volumes of gas and oil supplies, including LNG, the launch of the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline.

Development, most likely, will also affect the creation of joint ventures in the field of agro-complex, as well as in the production of equipment for the oil and gas industry, ”concluded the analyst.