Xi Jinping has made Moscow the destination of his first state visit in his new capacity as the Chinese president, a decision that has caught close attention from the international community. Some people see it as a readily understandable decision, while some others look at it with a dubious eye.
Yu Sui
The reason why Xi has chosen to destine his first state visit for Russia is simple and clear: to raise China-Russia cooperation in all fields to a new level and inject new vigor into their relations by continuing with the past and opening up the future, as he told Russian president Putin when receiving the latter’s congratulatory phone call after his election as Chinese president, or as Putin put it in the call, to vigorously promote cooperation and people-to-people exchange between the two countries and to further cement their relations.
The more than two decades after the breakup of the former Soviet Union have seen the constant growth and perfection of bilateral relations between China and Russia, thanks to efforts by new partners. Friendliness is not what brings them together now as before. Now tying them is a constructive partnership or, to be more accurate, an all-round strategic partnership. The two countries have even concluded the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation to affirm, in legal form, the level of their bilateral relations and their consensus about all-round cooperation.
Both China and Russia are now working for national revitalization. They are both countries experiencing a transition, in a certain sense. Whatever reform and transformation they plan and launch, improvement of economic efficiency and promotion of scientific and technological advancement will get top priority, while expansion of ties with the international community will be followed as a general direction. It is on the basis of these preconditions that they strive to boost their productivity, increase their comprehensive national strength, and improve the living quality of their people. Taking the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence as the basis of their bilateral relations, they will not enter into alliance, confront each other, or aim at any third country. On the contrary, they will remain good neighbors, good friends and good partners treating each other equally and tied up through mutual trust. They will respect each other’s choice of development path, and keep the normal development of state relations clear of ideological influences.
Both Chinese and Russian leaders have hailed the relations between their two countries as a model for the relations between big powers. As this author understands, what characterizes this model is its promotion of strategic cooperation instead of alliance, tightening of ties instead of dependence, and maintenance of self-respect and dignity instead of evil intentions, handing of international affairs in line with commonly acknowledged principles instead of double standards, and settlement of all interests and disputes through consultation on the basis of equality. These are also features that have been advocated by Chinese and US leaders, as this author believes, for the development of a new-type relationship between big powers.
When in Moscow, Xi will first of all exchange views with his Russian counterpart on cooperation between their two countries, and on economic cooperation in particular. When we say China-Russia relations are close and tight, we do not mean that they are perfect. One notable flaw, for instance, is the imbalance between their political and economic relations. When cooperating with China in the hi-tech sector, for instance, Russia would always worry about possible infringement on its intellectual property rights. Chinese enterprises, meanwhile, would often find it difficult to comply with Russian laws and regulations when doing business there. Plus corruption on the part of some Russian officials, Chinese enterprises are less and less enthusiastic about putting their money in Russia.
Fortunately, however, the leaders of the two countries have always looked squarely at these problems instead of shunning them, and tried them best to solve them instead of leaving them alone. Thanks to efforts from both sides, China is now Russia’s biggest trade partner, second biggest importer, and biggest source of imports. Last year, bilateral trade volume between the two countries hit US$80 billion, a 40 per cent yearly growth. According to the blueprints drawn by the leaders of the two countries, total trade volume between the two countries will rise to US$100 billion by 2015 and US$200 billion by 2020.
To speed up bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the two countries will deepen their discussions on transit from commodity and resource trade to technical and service trade; priority areas for cooperation, especially all-round and multi-level cooperation in the energy industry covering nuclear, natural gas, oil and coal sectors; promotion direct cooperation between their scientific research institutions, hi-tech firms and colleges and universities to advance hi-tech development and innovation; and facilitation of regional cooperation and exchange so as to improve the current situation of too much focus on trade and insufficient attention to cooperation in production and investment.
During his stay in Moscow, President Xi will also exchange views with Russian leaders on some international and regional issues of pressing concern.
It is not advisable to mystify Xi’s Russia trip. It is neither rare nor customary for a new Chinese president to destine Russia for his first state visit. When elected as the Chinese president in 2003, for instance, Hu Jintao visited Russia first. When re-elected in 2008, however, he picked Japan for his first state visit.
Neither is it advisable to play up Xi’s Russia visit or speculate on the motives behind it. In a February 22 report on its official website, the New York Times interpreted Xi’s Russia visit as a response to the back-to-Asia policy being implemented by the Obama administration. The Japanese newspaper Sankei daily, meanwhile, said in its February 21 report that Xi was trying to tighten ties with Russia for the purpose of counterbalancing the alliance between Japan and the United States, while the Mexican newspaper Der Tag said on its official website on February 20 that Xi’s Russia visit was designed to counter the US attempt to encircle China.
On the same day when he was elected as the Chinese president, Xi Jinping had a friendly telephone talk with US president Obama, during which the two leaders acknowledged the results of the positive development of their bilateral relations and expressed their hope to develop a new type of relations between big powers. These viewpoints are precisely the same as those expressed by Xi in his phone talk with Russian president Putin.
If turned into a reality and kept developing, the partnership of positive cooperation on all fronts as advocated by Chinese and US leaders may become a true model of new-type relations between big powers.
Cooperation and competition always accompany each other during the course of development of state relations. What counts here is to cooperate in real earnest and compete in close line with the rule of game. This is the only way toward sound interaction during the course of development of both Sino-Russian and Sino-US relations.
Yu Sui is a professor with the China Center for Contemporary World Studies.
Yu Sui,Professor with the China Center for Contemporary World Studies via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/bEvdv7bDzDA/
