The leaders of Russia and China held talks for the second time in six months. Much has changed over these six months: the West has begun to prepare in earnest for a Russian invasion of Ukraine; China barely survived the debt crisis, and ostensibly prepared to take over Taiwan. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping decided to talk right now, when the contradictions with the Western world have accumulated enough to reiterate their friendship and partnership.

Exchange of courtesies

Before the start of the talks, Vladimir Putin took a welcoming speech. The Russian President called Russian-Chinese relations "a real model of interstate cooperation" in the twenty-first century and stressed that Moscow and Beijing remain in "contact" even despite the difficult epidemiological situation in the world. In addition, Putin did not disregard the start of construction of four new power units at the Tianwan nuclear power plant and the Xudapu nuclear power plant in northeastern China, which is being carried out by Rosatom.

"A new model of cooperation has been formed between our countries, based, among other things, on such foundations as non-interference in internal affairs and respect for each other's interests, determination to turn the common border into a" belt "of eternal peace and good neighborliness," the official quotes Putin Kremlin website.

Strengthening trade, uniting efforts to combat coronavirus and coordinating the actions of the two countries on the world stage also received the attention of the Russian President, which he did not forget to recall during his opening speech. In conclusion, Putin promised to come to Beijing for the Winter Olympics in order to "finally" meet face to face.

Xi Jinping, who has not left the Celestial Empire since the beginning of the pandemic, joyfully greeted the news of the upcoming visit and stressed that relations between the two countries withstood various tests, demonstrating their viability. The Chinese leader also noted Putin's activities on the international front: according to Xi Jinping, the Russian president is hindering attempts to "drive wedges" between Moscow and Beijing.

As for the Summit for Democracy, Putin and Xi agreed that the event is counterproductive and creates dividing lines. Not without discussion of the new defense alliance AUKUS. The leaders of Russia and China concluded that the organization was undermining the nuclear balance in the world and expressed concern about the reconfiguration of the situation in the region.

President Xi did not ignore a topic of particular relevance for China - the development of renewable energy sources. The politician noted the need to develop cooperation in this area.

The leaders also agreed to create an independent financial structure that could not be influenced by other states.

In addition, Xi supported the Russian initiative to create a system of security guarantees, proposed by Putin during his talks with Biden.

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“I look forward to our Olympic meeting with you,” Chairman Xi concluded before the meeting moved into a closed format.

Pivot to the East

Since the beginning of the active phase of the so-called “pivot to the East” in 2014, the Russian and Chinese authorities have been keeping pace on all key foreign policy issues. For China, this format of relations is especially valuable.

In any case, Moscow remains an important partner of Beijing, since it is from Russia that most of the hydrocarbons needed for the Chinese economy come from, says Mikhail Karpov, a Sinologist and author of scientific publications on the Chinese economy.

His colleague, Sinologist Andrei Vinogradov also points out the fact that the supply of Russian hydrocarbons to China is practically not threatened by any external factors, which cannot be said about other suppliers. “The pipelines are not shipments by tankers through the Strait of Malacca, which is in the area of ​​operation of the US fleet and its new AUKUS allies. And not the pipelines from Saudi Arabia and Iraq that go through explosive areas in Central Asia and can also be interrupted, ”the expert emphasized.

“In addition, we have timber, fish, mineral resources and food in general, which China is increasingly lacking. China needs all this from us.

But the main thing is that our supplies, and this especially concerns energy resources, are the safest in the event of a further deterioration in China's relations with the West and the United States. The more China's relations with the West become aggravated, the more they need us, ”Vinogradov added.

At the same time, Mikhail Karpov noted that the permanent confrontation between Russia and the West plays into China's hands, since since 2014 Moscow has been taking "all the fire on itself."“Chinese policy towards Russia boils down to not going into confrontation with Moscow and not pushing it towards deeper cooperation with Western countries. Today, Russian-Chinese relations are developing within the framework of the logic that was laid back in April 1996, when Boris Yeltsin and Jiang Zemin formulated a strategic partnership formula and laid the foundation for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, "Karpov explained.

In addition to Russia, China does not have such a large choice of countries that could show political solidarity with Beijing, says Andrey Karneev, Head of the School of Oriental Studies at the Higher School of Economics.

“There is Pakistan, an all-weather friend. There are over a hundred more countries along the Belt and Road. But these states mainly rely on economic preferences from China, and are not ready to solidarize with it in the political sphere. In this regard, Russia is a unique partner, since Moscow is also experiencing tension in relations with the United States and the EU, ”the expert noted.

“The current configuration of international relations is pushing for cooperation, this is a factor that brings them together. However, Russian-Chinese relations have their own dynamics, ”Karneev concluded.

Yuri Tavrovsky, head of the Expert Council of the Russian-Chinese Committee for Friendship, Peace and Cooperation, noted that China is the largest strategic and trade partner for Moscow, and relations between the two countries have "grown into allies."

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Tavrovsky also drew attention to the fact that President Putin and Chairman Xi held talks after the Russian leader phoned US President Biden.

"Putin informs Xi as an ally - this is a new step in the development of allied relations," the expert noted.

Today's negotiations are only an intermediate stage of discussion, Tavrovsky said.

“Strong discussions will begin in early February, when politicians will meet on the sidelines of the Olympic Games. There, the coordination of a common position in relation to the West and each other will take place, ”the expert explained.

The state of partnership

According to the Russian president, from January to November of this year, trade between the countries increased by 31% and amounted to $ 123 billion. - said Putin. According to statistics, in trade with China, Russia is content with a surplus in the trade balance, i.e. exports more than it imports. However, the structure of trade is not diversified.

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In October, Sergei Savinskiy, a researcher at the Center for International Finance at the Research Institute for Research and Development under the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, noted in an interview with that hydrocarbons account for more than half of the total volume of export deliveries of products from Moscow to Beijing. This number includes oil, gas, coal. Logging and fish products also go from Russia to China. Beijing, on the other hand, exports more technological products to Russia. Then the experts interviewed noted Russia's dependence on raw materials on exports to China due to Moscow's inability to diversify its export basket.

“For a qualitative breakthrough, structural changes are needed in the economies of both Russia and China. In this case, politics determines the economy. In Russian-Chinese relations, the political factor largely determines the economy, "said Mikhail Karpov.

And although China remains the largest trading partner of the Russian Federation, Beijing has priority in other areas of trade. As of 2021, Moscow is not among the top 10 trading partners of China. For comparison: in the period from January to October of this year, the volume of trade between China and the United States exceeded half a trillion dollars, according to the Statista portal.

In addition to trade, Beijing and Moscow have a partnership in the energy sector, which President Putin also announced ahead of talks. In May of this year, the countries solemnly launched work on the construction of power units No. 7 and No. 8 of the Tianwan NPP, as well as No. 3 and No. 4 of the Xudapu NPP. In addition, in 2017, Rosatom signed a contract with the China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation (CNEIC) for the supply of fuel for an experimental Chinese fast reactor. Earlier it was reported that the total revenue from the Chinese projects of Rosatom could exceed $ 3 billion, while fuel supplies and assistance in servicing are able to replenish the company's account by another $ 4.5-5 billion.

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