Russia and China join forces, pressure from the US becomes balanced

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin raise their glasses on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok (Russia). Photo: TASS

The best relationship

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met and held talks on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia. This was the second meeting between the two leaders this year, with both sides saying that “Russia-China relations are at their best in history.” The image that caught the attention of international media at the meeting was the two leaders making traditional Russian specialty salmon roe pancakes together. This highly symbolic image shows the close personal relationship between the two leaders, and is also evidence of the increasingly “closer” bilateral relations between Russia and China.

Recent changes in international relations have brought the relationship between the two countries to a new level. In the context of sanctions imposed by the US and the West since 2014 following the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia has quickly “pivoted” to Asia-Pacific, and China - the world's second largest economy - is Moscow's top choice in this strategy. Meanwhile, with its increased strength over the years, China is also expanding its strategic space to assert its position as a regional and international power, gradually competing with the US for influence in the Asia-Pacific. Beijing hopes to maintain bilateral relations with Russia in a way that creates a safe environment for achieving development goals and mutually beneficial cooperation and support.

Based on that approach, Russia-China relations have recently developed effectively and substantially, mainly in the economic sphere. Bilateral trade is booming - expected to increase from $87 billion last year to $100 billion this year. These are quite impressive numbers given that both Russia and China are under heavy economic sanctions from the US.

Experts predict that Russia-China trade relations will continue to increase if the US trade war with Beijing continues to escalate. Chinese President Xi Jinping was accompanied by 1,000 businesses and officials to the Eastern Economic Forum, showing that Beijing wants to create more investment cooperation projects with Moscow. In the immediate future, Russia can supply energy to neighboring China, while China can share its expertise in e-commerce. During the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Russian IT group Mail.ru agreed to establish a joint venture in Russia and former Soviet countries. The leaders of the two countries also agreed to increase the use of their national currencies in bilateral trade transactions and limit payments in dollars.

In addition to trade, Russia-China relations have reached a new level with military and defense cooperation, evidenced by the Chinese military's participation in Russia's largest-ever military exercise called "Vostok 2018".

Message from “Vostok 2018”

Russian President Vladimir Putin will inspect the exercise. Photo: AP

China and Russia regularly cooperate in bilateral military exercises. But this is the first time Moscow has combined Beijing's military forces in an annual strategic exercise that is usually reserved for Russia's closest allies. The unprecedented move is said to have many hidden meanings.

Some Russian military officials have admitted that one of the reasons Russia invited China to participate in the Vostok-2018 exercise was to dispel Beijing’s suspicions that the exercise was directly targeting China. China and Russia share a more than 4,000 km border, which is also the reason for many conflicts over migration issues as well as historical disputes. In previous years, exercises in Russia’s eastern regions were closely watched by China, which viewed them as a direct threat to its security. Therefore, the best way to dispel suspicions was to include China in the exercise.

On the other hand, the joint exercise also helps both Russia and China pursue their own military development goals. For China, deeper military ties with Russia give it access to Russian military technology and Russian field experience in Syria and Ukraine. For Russia, in the short term, it also wants to conquer more markets for its arms exports. In recent years, Russia has begun selling some of China’s most advanced weapons, including the S-400 air-to-air missile system and the fourth-generation Su-35 fighter jet.

Russia and China hold joint military exercise “Vostok-2018”. Photo: Reuters

However, the biggest message from “Vostok-2018” is said to be aimed at the United States and the West. According to observers, this exercise in Russia is once again a reminder to the West that the two Eurasian powers can join hands to create a common military front in any situation. The context of diplomatic and economic isolation will only make Russia and China develop an alliance relationship with each other. In addition, the military cooperation and close relationship between Russia and China can pave the way for a redrawing of regional geopolitics. According to observers, it is unlikely that Russia and China will join a formal alliance like NATO. But the two countries are sending a signal that they can cooperate in a war if they have to confront Washington.

The adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” may be increasingly true in the case of Russia and China. The joint military exercise “Vostok-2018” is seen as a combined effort by Moscow and Beijing to coordinate efforts to balance pressure from the United States.