The year 2016 marks the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between China and Russia and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. Relations between China and Russia have entered a new historical period of all-round, accelerated and healthy development with in-depth cooperation in various fields. The active cooperation between China and Russia has been built on a solid foundation, which enables the two nations to go forward with confidence and open new horizons in the development of friendly relations. China-Russia-US strategic partnership to open new horizons
If China and Russia can successfully align their national development initiatives with each other, they will be able to fully reveal the enormous hidden potential
Prof Sarwar Md Saifullah Khaled
The year 2016 marks the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between China and Russia and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. Relations between China and Russia have entered a new historical period of all-round, accelerated and healthy development with in-depth cooperation in various fields. The active cooperation between China and Russia has been built on a solid foundation, which enables the two nations to go forward with confidence and open new horizons in the development of friendly relations.
During his visit to Moscow in May 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin signed joint declarations on deepening the two sides comprehensive partnership and cooperation within the framework of the initiative on the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This development marks a new historic start in the development of bilateral relations, which has pointed out the direction for not only further deepening of bilateral cooperation, but also development and prosperity across the Eurasia region.
After more than a year since the signing of the declarations, China and the EAEU have established close contacts and initiated a large-scale research. The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council has adopted at its recent meeting a resolution on the initiation of formal negotiations with China, which was a significant step toward the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the EAEU. It can be expected that the start of constructive cooperation and rapid elaboration of a systemic trade and investment plan will give a new impetus to the development of economic and trade ties of China with Russia as well as with the EAEU at large.
If China and Russia can successfully align their national development initiatives with each other, they will be able to fully reveal the enormous hidden potential of mutual complementarity of their economies, which will not only be in the interest of developing Chinas western regions and Russias Far East, but will also contribute to the economic recovery of Russia and economic transformation of China. The quality of economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia has been constantly improving in recent years. China has become the biggest trading partner to Russia and an important source of foreign investment in the country, while Russia is one of Chinas main sources of imports of energy and high technology.
Despite the impact of certain external factors and a reduction in overall trade volume in recent years, the scope and quality of bilateral trade have not decreased in any way, but rather increased. Last year 2015, China imported over 40 million tons of crude oil from Russia, a 28 percent increase from the previous year 2014. Chinas imports of Russian industrial equipment and high-tech products grew by 32.1 percent and 34.2 percent, respectively. New areas of cooperation, like cross-border electronic trade, are also gaining traction with Russia becoming the second largest player in cross-border e-commerce with China. This gives a significant boost to the development of trade and economy of both sides, and enriches the livelihood of the peoples of both nations.
In addition, major strategic projects between China and Russia, including the Eastern Route pipeline, cooperation in satellite navigation systems and joint development and production of long-haul wide-body aircraft, have greatly promoted the development of high technologies, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples. Along with the deepening cooperation, the social foundation for China-Russia relations has been further strengthened. Successful activities have been held such as reciprocal years of languages, tourism, friendly youth and media exchanges, mutual visits of diplomats, journalists, students and so on, as well as jointly-conducted art festivals, film weeks and media forums, with the aim of further strengthening mutual understanding and friendship between the two people.
The development of China-Russia relations is inseparably linked with the strategic aspirations of the leaders of both countries. For years, the two sides have effectively implemented a mechanism of regular meetings between their government heads and numerous committees, subcommittees and working groups, which have covered almost all areas of bilateral cooperation. The visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Russia for the 21st regular meeting of Chinese and Russian government heads will be an opportunity for bilateral strategic cooperation at a higher level to bring about even more substantial results.
In the meanwhile, according to the Kremlin and Trumps office, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President-elect Donald Trump spoke over the phone on November 14, 2016 to discuss future efforts to improve the US-Russian ties. President-elect Trump noted to President Putin that he is very much looking forward to having a strong and enduring relationship with Russia and the people of Russia. The Kremlin, in a far more specific and longer readout, said that Putin congratulated Trump on his victory and expressed Russias readiness to establish a partner-like dialogue with the new administration on the basis of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in domestic relations.
According to Trumps office, Putin called him to offer his congratulations on winning a historic election. During the call, the two leaders discussed a range of issues including the threats and challenges facing the United States (US) and Russia, strategic economic issues and the historical US-Russia relationship that dates back over 200 years. According to Kremlin both Putin and Trump agreed that the US-Russian ties are in extremely unsatisfactory condition now. They spoke for active joint work to normalize ties and engage in constructive cooperation on a broad range of issues. Both Putin and Trump emphasized the need to develop trade and economic cooperation to give a strong basis to US-Russia relations.
Putin and Trump also agreed on the need to combine efforts in the fight against their No. 1 enemy - international terrorism and extremism - and discussed the settlement of the Syrian crisis in that context, according to the Kremlin. How to fight side-by-side in Syria, where Russia supports President Bashar Assad and the US supports rebels fighting against him and the Islamic State (IS), has been one of the key sticking points between President Barack Obama and Putin. It said that Putin and Trump agreed to continue phone contacts and to plan a personal meeting in the future. Trumps statement on November 14, 2016 said he looked forward to a strong and enduring (US) relationship with Russia. During the campaign, Trump outlined few specifics as to how he would go about it.
Likewise President Barack Obama began his presidency with a goal to reset ties with Russia. But they eventually plunged to the lowest point since the Cold War over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. Throughout the recent US presidential election campaign, the Kremlin insisted that it had no favorites and rejected the claims of interference in the US election. However, Russias state-controlled media made no secret of their sympathy for Trump.
On the other side Chinese President Xi Jinping called on November 19, 2016 for a smooth transition in Beijings relationship with Washington and praised outgoing President Barack Obama for strengthening ties between the two nations. During a meeting in Peru, Obama again urged all sides in the dispute over the South China Sea reduce tensions and resolve their disputes peacefully. He encouraged China to advance economic reforms, including a transition to a market-determined currency exchange rate. But Trump has been sharply critical of China. Xi said at the start of the meeting We meet at a hinge moment in the China-US relationship. I hope the two sides will work together to focus on cooperation, manage our differences and make sure there is a smooth transition in the relationship and that it will continue to grow going forward.
But Trump, a Republican, has accused China of being a currency manipulator and promised to slap big tariffs on imported Chinese goods. He has called climate change a hoax designed to help Beijing. Trump wrote in a tweet in 2012 that The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive. Obama and Xi pushed for an international agreement forged in Paris to combat global warming. Obama called that an example of the benefits of the two countries working together. Trumps election has raised questions about whether the US would try to pull out of the accord, a key legacy accomplishment for Obama, a Democrat. China also helped negotiate the Iran nuclear agreement, another big piece of Obamas foreign policy that Trump has threatened to dismantle.
Now the world is eagerly waiting to see how the global big three the US, China and Russia synchronize their policy matters to bring global peace and ensure economic growth and socio-economic development friendly environment in the trouble torn world.
The writer is a retired Professorof Economics
