Advertisement
Opinion | Despite their warm relations, China and Russia aren’t yet a match made in heaven
- For all the talk of bonhomie and cooperation, several sources of tension remain between the two countries
- Russia’s threats over Ukraine and activities in Central Asia risk instability in areas where China has significant economic interests
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
10
In the chaos surrounding the stand-off over Ukraine, last week’s extraordinary summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping stands out. Putin visited the Winter Olympics in Beijing last week and became the first world leader to meet Xi in person since the start of the pandemic.
Advertisement
The stage was ostensibly set by the Olympics, but the unspoken context was geopolitics. The United States and its allies had announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games over Beijing’s alleged human rights violations. Meanwhile, Putin endorsed China’s role as host of the Games and met Xi at a time when Russia faces the threat of further sanctions from the West over Ukraine.
In response to these troubles, Putin and Xi rolled out an unprecedented 5,000-word joint statement, covering all of their common complaints against the West. Russia reaffirmed its support for the “One China” policy while China opposed the further enlargement of Nato, one of Putin’s primary demands surrounding Ukraine.
Xi’s endorsement of Putin’s position on Ukraine is a watershed moment for Chinese foreign policy. China did not endorse Russia’s war in Georgia in 2008 or recognise its annexation of Crimea in 2014. But as Xi expands his global ambitions, Putin appears to be a natural ally.
Both of them have long been suspicious of US-led security coalitions, Putin of Nato in Europe and Xi of the Quad and the Aukus agreement in Asia. Both Russia and China have been targeted by Western sanctions over abuses of democracy and human rights.
02:30
Xi meets with Putin ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony
Xi meets with Putin ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony
The joint statement articulated these concerns vividly. In the same paragraph where it denounced Nato expansion, the statement also criticised “the formation of closed bloc structures and opposing camps in the Asia-Pacific region” – language that mirrors Beijing’s frequent opposition to the Quad and other American initiatives.
Advertisement