China and Russia may increase their military cooperation as part of a joint effort to “resist any attempt” to divide Moscow and Beijing.
“It can go further if necessary,” Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov said while touting military ties in an interview with China’s state-run Global Times.
Both governments touted their relationship in the hours after President-elect Joe Biden emphasized the need for “coalitions of like-minded partners and allies” to confront the Chinese Communist Party. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping signaled their defiance of Biden’s plans following a phone call Monday evening.
“True gold can stand the test of fire, and the difficult period has given more prominence to the unique strength and great value of the China-Russia relationship,” Xi told Putin, according to state media. “By strengthening strategic cooperation, China and Russia can effectively resist any attempt to suppress and divide the two countries and, meanwhile, forge a solid shield to safeguard international fairness and justice.”
China’s foreign ministry publicized the conversation after Biden gave a preview of his foreign policy priorities.
“And as we compete with China and hold China’s government accountable for its abuses on trade, technology, human rights, and other fronts, our position will be much stronger when we build coalitions of like-minded partners and allies to make common cause with us in defense of our shared interests and values,” the president-elect said.
That statement forecasts a continuation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s proposal that the United Kingdom work with the United States to “build out a coalition” of allies to manage threats emanating from Beijing.
“We hope the upcoming U.S. administration can adopt a rational attitude toward Russia and China,” Denisov said. “We need to wait and see the next move by the U.S. government.”
Xi has sought to counter the U.S. initiative in the realm of public diplomacy through rhetorical upgrades of the Russia-China relationship.
“The West has been trying to question the rationality and sustainability of Sino-Russian relations,” East China Normal University’s Zhang Xin told the South China Morning Post. “Such criticism has also brought potential adverse effects. … China and Russia should cooperate to counter such effects.”
Western analysts tend to believe that Xi and Putin are overstating their partnership for political purposes while masking the suspicion that exists between the two sides.
“At the end of the day, Moscow does not want to be a suburb of Beijing,” the Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano said recently. “And at the end of the day, Beijing sees Moscow as a potential suburb.”
Denisov may have displayed some of that wariness in his interview with the Global Times, as it characterized him as downplaying the prospect of an alliance on the grounds that “there is always a dominant country even if the alliance claimed all members are equal.”
“It goes against the values of China and Russia in developing relationship,” the Russian ambassador said.
