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Opinion | Standing by uneasy ally Russia over Ukraine not in China’s long-term interest
- China and Russia are not natural allies, but geopolitics has pushed them together as they both feel they have been bullied by the West
- The partnership between the two is situational and will become more so the longer the Ukraine war continues, eating away at the drivers of China’s rise
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China and Russia’s relationship can be summarised by the phrase “it’s complicated”. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shocked the world and led to widespread condemnation.
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China’s failure to join the condemnation and its Russia-leaning “neutrality” have put the Sino-Russia relationship in the spotlight. The two are strategic partners, but are there really “no limits” to their cooperation?
For many Chinese of my generation, the Soviet Union featured prominently in our lives. For years, my favourite book was How the Steel Was Tempered, a Soviet novel about a solider fighting for the Bolsheviks.
In the 1950s, thousands of Soviet experts were sent to China, helping with our country’s construction. By the end of the 1950s, however, the relationship darkened over ideological and political differences. In the early 1960s, when a severe famine was killing millions of Chinese people, citizens had to tighten their belts to repay the Soviets. The enmity between the two countries culminated in a border clash near Zhenbao Island in 1969.
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China says ‘no limits’ in cooperation with Russia
China says ‘no limits’ in cooperation with Russia
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ice between China and Russia started to melt. In the past few decades, the relationship grew into today’s strategic partnership without limits.
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