https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/4759576
Mr Wang Yi,
Mr Ivanov,
Colleagues, friends,
The further development of strategic partnership with China is one of our top priorities. It is stipulated in the Foreign Policy Concept, which President of Russia Vladimir Putin approved in November 2016. We are grateful to our colleagues from the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for organising a regular, sixth joint conference. We regard it as an opportunity to review the current state and development outlook of our bilateral cooperation and its increasing influence on global developments.
This is a special year for us: 20 years ago on July 16, 2001, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of China Jiang Zemin met in Moscow to sign the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation. By turning this new page in their relations, the parties demonstrated their resolve to pass their friendship down through the generations. The treaty formalised the previously applied political definition of bilateral relations as “a partnership of (…) equality and trust and strategic collaboration.” In other words, this truly historical international document has put on record the development of a new model of our interstate relations and their progress to a fundamentally new stage.
I would like to note that the Treaty is based on the universally recognised norms of international law, first of all the goals and principles of the UN Charter. It seals the parties’ agreement on mutual support in the defence of the national unity and territorial integrity, as well as their commitment not to be the first to use nuclear weapons against each other and not to target strategic nuclear missiles on each other. The document also formulated the principle of “respecting each other’s choice of the course of political, economic, social and cultural development.” The parties pledged to immediately contact and consult each other in the event of the threat of aggression and not to allow their territory to be used by third countries to the detriment of the national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the other party. In this way, Russia and China provided a legal framework for the closest possible collaboration on strategic matters bearing on their fundamental interests without creating a formal military-political alliance. In fact, a comprehensive Russian-Chinese partnership is more than just a classical military-political union.
Another vital provision mentions the absence of any territorial claims to each other and the parties’ resolve “to make the border between them into one where everlasting peace and friendship prevail from generation to generation.” The incorporation of this principle promoted the final settlement of the so-called border dispute and greatly strengthened mutual trust.
Colleagues,
The Treaty played a huge role in boosting mutual trade and economic interaction. We can report positive results to the public. During the past 20 years, our mutual trade increased more than thirteen times, from $8 billion to $104 billion in 2020. Work is underway within the framework of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Investment Cooperation on 70 projects worth in total more than $120 billion.
Our energy partnership has acquired a strategic dimension. A Russian-Chinese oil pipeline has been functioning for nearly 10 years now, and the Power of Siberia gas pipeline was launched in late 2019. China is taking part in large-scale LNG projects in the Russian Arctic zone. Just a few days ago, on May 19, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of China Xi Jinping launched the construction of four new Russian-designed power units for the Tianwan and Xudapu nuclear power stations in China.
Our industrial and agricultural cooperation is developing constantly. Our interaction in science and innovation is especially important in light of the continued Western attempts to contain our countries’ technological progress. It is for this reason that we are holding the Years of Science, Technology and Innovation in 2020-2021 as part of the successful practice of themed cross-years.
The Treaty also has a great role to play in promoting cultural and humanitarian ties. These activities are helping to maintain the relations of good-neighbourliness and reinforce the social basis of strategic partnership between Russia and China.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has impaired contacts between our citizens. I am sure that, as the epidemiological situation becomes normalised, we will be able to quickly restore and expand them. In our opinion, efforts to promote Russian language studies in China and Chinese language studies in Russia should become an unconditional priority. The same concerns dialogue with young people, who will soon carry on efforts to develop and expand the traditions of Russian-Chinese friendship.
The Treaty, which is ahead of its time in some respects, is not limited to bilateral ties. Its provisions help expand our foreign policy cooperation. Bilateral dialogue is becoming particularly important on the international scene today, when some Western states are trying to demolish the UN-centric system of international law and to replace it with their own rules-based order. Moscow and Beijing consistently advocate the creation of a more equitable, democratic and therefore stable polycentric international order. This system should reflect the cultural and civilisational diversity of the modern world and the natural striving of nations to independently determine their development path. The very fact of the Russian-Chinese accord on this issue serves to stabilise and balance the entire system of international relations. It opens up broad opportunities for truly equitable and free cooperation between large and small countries jointly shaping their historical destiny.
I am satisfied to note the coinciding or largely similar approaches of Moscow and Beijing towards an absolute majority of challenges facing the world today, including efforts to maintain global strategic stability, arms control and counterterrorism operations. We cooperate successfully and fruitfully at such multilateral venues as the UN, the SCO, BRICS, RIC, the G20, APEC and the EAS. We coordinate our steps during the Syrian and Afghan peace processes, the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and on the Iranian nuclear programme. Russia and China advocate the peaceful development of the Asia Pacific region and the creation of reliable regional mechanisms for ensuring equal and indivisible security there based on non-bloc approaches.
Today, the Eurasian region is implementing a number of innovative integration projects, including the Eurasian Economic Union and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Work to combine their potentials has good prospects. Notably, it lays a solid foundation for establishing a new geo-strategic contour of peace, stability and economic prosperity based on principles of international law and transparency on our shared continent from Lisbon to Jakarta. This contour would be open for all countries, including members of the Eurasian Economic Union, the SCO, ASEAN and, in the future, the EU. The initiative of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on establishing a Greater Eurasian Partnership aims to accomplish this truly historic task. We highly value cooperation with our Chinese friends on its well-coordinated implementation together with the Belt and Road Initiative.
Colleagues,
The Treaty on Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation, whose 20th anniversary we are going to mark in July 2021, is an unshakeable foundation of Russian-Chinese relations. We are convinced that it remains a living and working document that makes it possible to expand, finetune and adjust our strategic cooperation in line with the changing realities of the new epoch. This epoch demands that all of us, including experts, diplomats and politicians, always pay attention to new challenges and opportunities, trends and forecasts. Your conference is a good platform for a calm, detailed and professional exchange of opinions and ideas, without which is it is hard to chart the road forward and to determine a joint algorithm of subsequent actions.
Therefore, in conclusion, I would like to wish you fruitful discussions and intellectual insights and revelations for the benefit of strengthening neighbourly relations and friendship between Russia and China.
Thank you.
What is not yet quantifiable is Russia + China is intellectually, culturally and morally far greater than the US + vassals.
The Civilizational advantages of Russia and China are overwhelming compared to the dying, degenerate, deviant Western Civilization that has been disembowelled and lobotomized by Liberalism and the cancerous hegemony necessary for uncontrolled financial capitalism.
Agreed. While USA might squeak by on contrived metrics such as GDP or military spending, Russia and China are light-years ahead in the important areas: health, education, environmental security, real productivity, etc. Liberalism is a mental illness.
Hi, Jurgen. No mental illness is so pervasive: it is an ideology of Judeo-Zionist supremacy which got held of the West after Napoleon´s defeat. The tools of this “divine” supremacy are the teachings of Ricardo & Friedman, their high priests of the financial religion.
”Liberalism is a mental illness”
Exactly, and it’s accompanied by absolutely zero recognition of the sickness ever penetrating the liberal skull. In the erstwhile USSR it was realized that mental hospitalization is called for. The sickness of the contemporary West is a most excellent justification.
Agreed!!
Of course, you are completely right, L445.
Today, I was talking with a younger acquaintance of mine, from Germany. He’s a good man. He wanted me to check out a Video game about the Cold War.
So I suggested that instead of playing a video game, he look at actual history. Three examples:
—What country dropped nuclear weapons on civilians in a war that was already won?
—Which country has First Use Nuclear option, and which country does not?
—What country’s top executive won Nazi highest civilian award (Henry Ford)
—What countries had plans to invade the USSR after the USSR saved them from a Nazi victory?
Yet, mostly young people don’t study history, so they’re distracted by playing irrelevant distracting games. They really don’t understand, because of Western dominance of the media and even entertainment complex, what the nature of the problem even is!
@ Larchmonter445
You’v certainly impressed many people with your analysts, mostly regarding military. To me this is the best post you have ever written, it actually has a holy feeling to it pure truth.
Super impressed
”The Treaty, which is ahead of its time in some respects, is not limited to bilateral ties. Its provisions help expand our foreign policy cooperation. Bilateral dialogue is becoming particularly important on the international scene today, when some Western states are trying to demolish the UN-centric system of international law and to replace it with their own rules-based order. Moscow and Beijing consistently advocate the creation of a more equitable, democratic and therefore stable polycentric international order.”
Instant reply from the Collective West:
A pox on you Lavrov and the entire Russian government for advocating what amounts to the creation of a more authoritarian, criminal and therefore unruly Kremlin dominated international tyranny. Show some decency and let the Crimeans enjoy freedom under NATO’s protection and, last but not least: Navalny for president!
Hahaha. “Pox on you Lavrov” made my day! Thank you
yes. it indicates that Bidens coming ‘photo op’ tete a tete in Geneva is a waste of time before he even gets on board airforce one. America has little or nothing to offer Russia, the only thing worth knowing is was the americans want in return for their nothing. Arms reduction? (a chance to catch up) Nuclear treaties? It will be interesting to find out what happens behind closed doors whilst ignoring the fluff in front of the cameras
For those interested in numbers, here is Russia & China trade:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1003171/russia-value-of-trade-in-goods-with-china/
It’s a very balanced relationship that is growing each year. (Lavrov’s number US$ 104 billion is simply addition of exports + imports.)
In comparison, here is trade with EU:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1099626/russia-value-of-trade-in-goods-with-eu/
The EU is more important as a trading partner than China but is clearly in decline. A huge decrease took place in 2014 (due to Euro-Maidan) . Also, Russia sells far more to EU than it imports..
What we are watching is the death of an empire in slow motion. Each and every day the dying empire tries ever more harder to show it is of some importance in our dramatically changing world, and each and every day the empire is shown it’s ever decreasing influence and importance as it’s leaders stare in to the abyss of their own making.
We can only hope that the two premier statesmen of our time, the leaders of Russia and Katai, will allow, and guide, the empire as it slides down to the status of little import. The most difficult task will be to make sure this fall from grace does not result in a Götterdämmerung that brings The World crashing down with it. I have few doubts that our leaders will accomplish this task.
Auslander
Author http://rhauslander.com/
Never The Last One, paper back edition. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521849056 A deep look in to Russia, her culture and her Armed Forces, in essence a look at the emergence of Russian Federation.
Auslander perhaps it has been decided that for a nuclear armed empire run by megalomaniacs it is necessary for the survival of life on this planet to continue if the empire is allowed to get use to its demise slow enough it does not cause the kind of panic that might launch a nuclear missile should it fail precipitously fast.
In effect Putin and Xi are telling and showing the empires ruling elites where the worlds the future is headed and giving them time to get emotionally use to it and accept it.
Think of it as hostage negotiation …..Putin and Xi are talking the western empire elites out of doing something rash which will cost them their lives.
Great last sentence! Describes it perfectly.
”In our opinion, efforts to promote Russian language studies in China and Chinese language studies in Russia should become an unconditional priority. The same concerns dialogue with young people, who will soon carry on efforts to develop and expand the traditions of Russian-Chinese friendship.”
This shows that the leaders of Russia and China are dead serious also about consolidating their so-called soft power. Promoting mutual language skills is an excellent initiative which will not just greatly facilitate envisaged cooperation in any conceivable field — it will also serve to create a cultural boom, bound to spread outwards. By contrast, the now rapidly dying and decomposing Anglo-American order was 100% Anglo-centric without the slightest trace of any genuine internationalism and intention of promoting any other languages but English.
Making English the world’s international language has been one of the greatest cultural crimes of the 20th and 21st centuries. There should be a greater effort by both Russia and China in promoting the re-emergence of Esperanto as an official language of both countries in addition to their own. I certainly support the promotion of their own languages too but including Esperanto as a language for trade, education, science etc will dispell any arguments of linguistic and cultural dominance by the other. Esperanto should be the world’s international language – not English or any other countrys language for that matter.
What should also be noted is that Esperanto is phonetic unlike English.
When Europe-centerd, why not Volapük? It considers also the Slavic heritage and is not focused on the Roman empire’s history. Probably there is also a sound non-European centered approach out there. One option could be the old-fashioned Castellano, which had been compiled for just such purpose by the Jewish Grammar scholar Nebrija in 1492 just at the completion of the Reconquista from the Moors. Based on Latin, it also considered quite some Arab roots of the local tongue spoken. And it is a world language already.
Alas, interesting is the history of its introduction. Nebrija offered it to the Catholic Queen Isabell la Catholica with the recommendation that she will need a unified language to govern such a large empire: “Una cosa hallo y saco por conclusión mui cierta: que siempre la lengua fue compañera del imperio y de tal manera lo siguió que junta mente començaron, crecieron y floreciero.” Isabel la Catholica rejected this request with the remarkable argument, that she has not the right to sack the peoples’ mother tongue, imposing a language! Alas, 30 years later after Columbus’ return, she had changed her mind and followed suit.
Another dimension of soft power is Cinema. This is a ‘language’ that often is a far more ‘impact-full’ and memorable narrator than anything said in any language. Many artists have heard of the line “For us, cinema is the political…”
More middle finger gestures to the empire:
Russia’s top security chief sends stern warning: Moscow willing to use real force against foreign adversaries, not just sanctions https://www.rt.com/russia/525380-moscow-real-force-adversaries/
Russia, Iran to develop contacts in defense sector — Russian defense ministry
https://tass.com/world/1296931
—–
Okhotnik wingman drones serial production and deliveries in 2024, though Russia already has plenty other kinetic toys to actualise Patrushev’s warning:
https://tass.com/defense/1296477
Russia’s Su-57 fifth-generation fighter capable of carrying four attack drones
The empire is using threats against other countries who are interested in developing Military coopération with Russia or China.
https://sputniknews.com/world/202106011083052202-pentagon-warns-middle-east-countries-against-security-cooperation-with-russia-china/
BigBen, your Link says The Man from Uncle looked straight and stern at Lebanon when he made that warning. Too late! Hezb kicked POTU$A Ronny Raygun’s marines out of Lebanon, also kicked out Uncle’s favourite nephew Izzie in 2006, and has been helping Iran and Russia to kick Uncle’s favourite ISIS head choppers out of Syria.
Perhaps Uncle could bribe Lebanon with some sweeties — a few $Billion like with Egypt?
Russia’s real ambitions are clearly recognisable in the following closing sentences of Lavrov’s speech.
‘Today, the Eurasian region is implementing a number of innovative integration projects, including the Eurasian Economic Union and China’s Belt and Road initiative. Work to combine their potentials has good prospects. Notably, it lays a solid foundation for establishing a new geo-strategic contour of peace, stability and economic prosperity based on principles of international law and transparency on our shared continent from Lisbon to Jakarta. This contour would be open for all countries, including members of the EEU, the SCO, ASEAN, and in the future the EU. The initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on establishing a Greater Eurasian Partnership aims to accomplish this truly historic task. We highly value cooperation with our Chinese friends on its well-coordinated implementation together with the Belt and Road initiative.’ (Lavrov: 6th International Conference Russia and China, 1/6/21, Moscow.
The greater Eurasian partnership from Lisbon to Jakarta. Eventually the Europeans will get the message and get on board. They will likely be received not a privileged guests but as drenched rats glad to be rescued from their sinking ship. The Americans can go back to Nature and live greenly ever after in Knustler’s world made by hand. Along the way the nations of Africa and Latin America will reorient their .. orientations. All in all this is as ambitious as ambition gets. The leadership of Russia have a very clear idea of where the country is headed. It’s well to keep this in mind when assessing the incessant tit for tat insults and injuries constantly vended by a Euro-Atlantic elite which has truly lost any real strategic vision other than mere survival. They are always trying to provoke a Russian reaction. This is what reactionary powers do. They wish more than anything to get their active opponents down to the gutter level where they operate. The Russian leadership never obliges, to the constantly escalating consternation of the Atlanticist shills. Russia is not a reactionary power. It is an active power which is headed in a clear, intelligible direction and is confident of achieving it’s quite reasonable goals. Active vs Reactive.
Russia and China have the sixth longest international border 4209 kilometers. Both those leaders have absolutely no excuse for not going into hyperdrive to develope this region. Nordstream, It would be a joke compared to what could happen between Russia and China. Choke, the Germans. Give them a taste and raise the price. Free market and all. Build 20 Nordsteams to China. There is not water to cross. Please be smart and Mr Lavrov, there are those of us in America that respect you and pray that you will be successful in your efforts to establish the ties between Russia and China both your peoples deserve. Mr Lavrov, the sun rises in the east. Please do not make us simpletons lay it out for you. Russia, Resources. China has Might. You do not need western finance if you grow together.
Americans can’t shed their habit of telling people what they should do.
What, and throw out the window the potential of a Russian-German entente that the Anglosphere has long tried to prevent? (Not that I’m discounting the potential of the Russian-Chinese entente, mind you.)
No matter where you look in the world. You will notice that interconnection of infrastructure is key to development. For example, South America was explored by Europeans years before America. To this day you can not ride a train from Venezuela to Patagonia. Why, corruption and small little men. That part of the world has no one to blame but themselves for not being a highly developed region. Of course there are going to be differences of opinion, but do you know a country any where, where people do not like train travel where the trains are modern and on time? You can almost measure a countries success by this metric. If you can not ride a train from one end of the country to the other end of the country, that country is going no where fast. The better the trains the more successful the country by an large. Russia and China are old civilizations. What is their excuse for not having highly developed inter connecting infrastructure. If you want to see what happens in countries that go the opposite direction, just look at the mess in the Republic of Congo. Congo had great trains and now it has libraries where the staff doesn’t get paid and the older generation tries in vain to preserve the memory of a time when Congo was growing. Ask the Congolese about infrastructure. Before you castgate the white man for the state of affairs in Congo, you might want to consulte the locals. It is always interesting that the smallest among us are always the ones to criticize first and loudest.
Doesn’t look good.
The world seems to be headed into two blocks- Russia/China and friends on one side and US/EU and friends on the other. Or as The Saker puts it-Zone and Zone B.
The key question is which side will the rest of the countries choose- countries that have not clearly chosen one side or the other. Especially important are the big countries like India, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, Egypt etc.
Would be interesting to have an analysis of ALL the countries to see who is on which side, who is leaning to which side, what it would take to pull a country to one side or the other, likelihood of any country going to one side or the other.
“The world seems to be headed into two blocks- Russia/China and friends on one side and US/EU and friends on the other. Or as The Saker puts it-Zone and Zone B”. Agree with small modification “The world seem …….Russia /China and friends on one side and US and its lapdogs/lackeys on the other.
One of the areas to advance Russian-Chinese co-operation is to deploy a robust news, data, and Eurasian facts media system to highlight present, on-going and future accomplishments in the Eurasian space. This media system should be forged as soon as possible in lockstep with and that is worthy to the scientific, military, and economic ascendance of the region.
Absolutely fantastic idea. A Eurasian news network incorporating television, social media, radio etc with presenters from all over Eurasia done in high quality that can surpass anything done by CNN, BBC etc. Why aren’t Russian and Chinese billionaires coming out with such ideas?
I agree. If the NED can field hundreds of NGO’s for pennies on the military/industrial dollar surely the SCO partners can find resources sufficient to field a media suited to the extensive political tasks already underway. The three media operations we have, RT, Global Times, and Press TV have some value but what I, for one, would dearly love to see is quite simply real, honest to goodness, old fashioned journalism. Instead what we really have is just managed opinion in accordance with powers we might support for one reason or another but the kind of journalism we respect requires a self governance by working professionals, something of a guild. The last good example of what’s being referred to was the Guardian before Tony Spinmeister Blair came along, back in the old days before the Spooks hijacked the old endowed organisation of journalists. What is crucial is the political organisation of the media enterprise itself. As regards the media we are accustomed to there is either private ownership such as Bezos and the WP or we have Global Times and Press TV which are state owned and managed. Both have serious drawbacks. What is needed is something like a guild of working professional journalists who make a point of preserving a liberty of expression for all political positions and let the readership adopt the views that they will. It’s been done; it’s doable. If you want to combat propaganda this is the way to do it. It takes time but there’s something to be said for the power of the truth, or at least the honest efforts of journalists who are not coerced into vending the views of management or the political authorities. Again, what’s crucial here is the internal political order of the media itself – using the old Manchester Guardian as example. Most will regard this as flagship of liberal opinion as modern, but actually it’s not. It was modern in its endowment economy but politically it was essentially a guild, which is premodern, or medieval. With the old guilds, the way of living of its membership, be it masonry, joinery or mercantile, was not just a job but a vocation, a way of living that had an ethical dimension of good citizenship, or doing right by the community as a whole, and not just doing right for #1. In our historical experience this way has proven best – while it lasted. My hope is that it will seed the important efforts of the future.