“China has found an ally in Russia,” says Professor Edward Eraghbe, a professor of American history at the Department of International Studies and Diplomacy, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. “This has been ongoing for some time. Recent concerns have centered on China’s daring loan fencing of Africa, how it stealthily deepens its global interests in commerce and technology, and apparently its tactful diplomacy in Russia’s war with Ukraine. These realities magnify China’s significance in Moscow, which, for the right reasons, is a huge concern to the United States and, by extension, its allies. “I believe Beijing and Moscow breed behind the lights of global media,” he further stated.
Does a deepening Sino-Russia relationship exist?
Prof. Eraghbe agrees that it exists, though both nations try to play down the seriousness of it while strengthening their economic and military bond underneath the bedsheet. These words echoed and were made prior to Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia in March 2023. Before the visit, Russia’s President Putin was claimed to be increasingly isolated by the global west, including its immediate neighbors, who believe they have become vulnerable to a likely Russian aggression. Moscow’s hope of an ally was expected to be outside its immediate hemisphere, likely China and India.
The belief that Russia’s breakaway from the West was founded on its closer ties with India and China remains true. Though it’s been argued that sustaining relations with the two nations at the same time will pose a challenge to Russia, to keep China close, loosening the grip on the fledgling Moscow-New Delhi relationship was necessary. The three identifiable iron poles on which Russia’s relationship with India was built have since collapsed in a heap, leaving just one standing: Russia’s arms deal with India.
However, India’s shaky relationship with Moscow has prompted it to seek new markets for arms. While events in global politics are dynamic, in the meantime, Russia and India are still in alignment, as could be seen in India’s reluctance to take the path of most Western countries by sanctioning Russia.
Interestingly, Xi’s visit to Russia affirmed China’s commitment to a Sino-Russian alignment and what the future holds for the two countries, at least as long as they remain leaders of their countries. While in Russia, both leaders met on a number of occasions; their meetings were usually held behind closed doors. They were reported to have discussed issues concerning the new world order and the need to act decisively on a number of decisions. Their discussions were on the future of military cooperation, which includes arms and defense deals and economic possibilities.
On the third day, the day Xi was meant to draw his visit to a close, the two world leaders concerted on what has come to represent the core of the visit. The Chinese leader, Xi, speaking to his Russian counterpart, said, “There are changes happening, the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years. Let’s drive those changes together.” The Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, responded in an audacious affirmative. “I agree”, he said, unfazed.
Global affairs analysts say that the war in Ukraine, the floodgate of sanctions on Russia, its total isolation in Europe, and Beijing’s widening relationship with the US have made Russia’s deepening relationship with China inevitable. The international political space being an island of allies, China was predisposed to closing the gap with a superpower in its transition to a running economic and political rivalry with the US. Some days after the visit, the foreign minister of China, Qin Gang, while speaking to a state-owned media outlet, said, “The partnership with Russia is very important at a time when some forces are advocating “hegemonism, unilateralism, and protectionism” and are driven by a “Cold War mentality”.
It is expected that the Sino-Russian relationship will continue to grow as China considers Russia a strategic ally with whom it is set to take on the West. They will continue to keep their plans away from public view. This is evident in the 14 documents signed by world leaders that were not made public. Analysts say that those who were part of the discussions and who signed the documents were Russian officials from its weapons and space programs. It remains to be seen how far-reaching this mutually beneficial relationship will go, considering China’s leaping growth towers above Russia’s dwindling local economy and weakening global assertiveness.
China will be keen to support Russia’s economic recovery, but whether Russia will be willing to stoop to conquer will be a test for the Kremlin.
