The rapprochement between Russia and China, countries with complementary economies and a long common border, seems natural and logical. However, no other contact with our country’s partners is as criticized as relations with Beijing, Ivan Zuenko, senior researcher at IMI MGIMO of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writes in Profile magazine.
Perhaps the main argument of those who oppose rapprochement with China is the disproportionality of the size of the economy and population, from which the “only possible conclusion” is drawn: Russia will soon become dependent on China.
It would be strange to discuss the fact that the population in China is ten times larger and the economy is eight times larger. In addition to the fact that, against the background of a breakdown in relations with the West, China’s share in Russia’s foreign trade turnover has increased. But China in general is the main trading partner of most countries in the world (including Germany, Japan and India). However, this does not mean that all of them have become dependent on Beijing. Furthermore, after the shock years of 2022-2023, Russia is also differentiating its trade relations and, as cooperation within the BRICS develops and new markets open, it gradually increases trade with other countries, without limiting itself solely to China.
However, there is something else that is more interesting. Behind our phobias of becoming dependent on a densely populated and economically developed neighbor, we do not notice similar sentiments in China itself.
And there, some passionate people are also sounding the alarm, calling on the authorities to come to their senses and stop depending on “insidious Russia.” They say that now the Russians are selling oil at deep discounts, offering to build gas pipelines and luring them with the benefits of convenient transit. So what? Will the Russians start twisting our arms, inflating prices and assuring us that it was “on sale” before…
Other voices are also heard: they say, of course, that Russia has the moral right to defend its interests and security, and that it is not she who is “adding fuel” to the fire of the armed conflict in Eastern Europe. But does this mean that Beijing, with its impeccable international reputation (many in China see it that way) should engage in friendship with the “disruptor of world order”? Will states with more attractive markets turn their backs on Beijing? Okay, America, everything is clear, but the countries of Europe will definitely soon understand that they have nothing to share with China and that they need to cooperate. not conflict (curious, but the Chinese really firmly believe that sooner or later the Europeans will understand this). Will the rapprochement with Russia interfere with the normalization of relations with Europe?
And isn’t Moscow going overboard in trying to play the leading role in the polyphony of the Global South? Doesn’t this drown out the voice of China, whose calmness can be mistaken for weakness and whose sophisticated initiatives are still unclear to many? Is Russia turning every platform, club and international organization it participates in into a platform to promote its ideas?
There are also those in China who believe that their country wants to change the world for the better by changing the very paradigm of international relations and abandoning the fight for global leadership. But Russia thinks in the same categories and, although it fights against American hegemony, in reality it would simply like to take its place.
All these theses sound quite loud and clear in the People’s Republic of China; Even relevant publications appear in the official press. However, the importance of this fact should not be overestimated. This is not so much an “indicator” sent from above, as we often think, but rather an element of pluralism: they say, there are similar opinions in our free country and, in general, “let a hundred flowers bloom.”
At the same time, there are forbidden and taboo topics in Chinese discourse, but discussion (and sometimes condemnation) of Russia is clearly not one of them. It is difficult for us to blame this, since we ourselves do not write anything about China.
Beijing’s official course, as they like to say in the People’s Republic of China, is “consistent and unchanged.” It is quite cautious, it takes into account the risks, but it starts from the fact that Russia and China are like-minded people on the world stage and complement each other economically perfectly. Therefore, while it is more profitable for the two countries to cooperate, that is exactly what they should do, paying less attention to the lamentations of the cliques.
