Opinion | China-Russia relations in 2022: an alliance by any other name?
- 2021 saw the two countries draw closer together than ever in recent years, with bilateral trade surpassing pre-pandemic levels and cooperation on the energy front
- Most outstanding, however, was military collaboration, which could deepen next year
Both Moscow and Beijing have already lauded the past year as the most outstanding period in their bilateral partnership.
On December 23, during his annual end-of-year press conference, Putin reiterated the praise lavished on Russia-China relations during his conversation with Xi. He said cross-state ties represent “an absolutely comprehensive partnership of a strategic nature, which has no precedent in history”.
In 2021, Russia and China marked several important milestones in their collaboration, which hint that their relations are taking on a more alliance-like structure, albeit still deprived of official obligations to avoid cold-war-style polarisation.
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'Old friends' Xi and Putin agree to build China-Russia ties in virtual talks ahead of Olympics
Economically, Moscow and Beijing have seen tangible progress, with trade turnover surpassing pre-pandemic levels and hitting a record high of US$123 billion.
