Positive forces for world progress
The Western realist tradition in international relations deems it impossible for two rising powers to live together peaceably. Yet Sino-Russian relations have proven the patent falsity of such nay-saying, becoming the model of global great power relations.
Although it has not always been smooth sailing during the Cold War, relations between China and Russia have warmed rapidly since Putin’s presidency. The signature on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2014 marked a new phase in high-level strategic mutual trust between China and Russia, opening the way to cooperation in many fields.
On major global issues, the two countries have displayed close strategic trust and cooperation, maintaining communication and a united stand in the Korean Peninsula and Syrian crises. In global governance, China and Russia have worked together to promote regional cooperation and global governance by leveraging such platforms as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and the G20. Mutual support has also been evinced in major events concerning the two countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping personally attended the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games that were boycotted by the West; joint military exercises held in the sensitive water of the South China and Baltic Seas in 2017 are all expressions of mutual support. On the economic front, China has been Russia’s largest trading partner for eight consecutive years.
The leaders of both countries have always maintained close personal relations, with Xi and Putin meeting no less than 20 times over the past five years. Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted during the Two Sessions that “Sino-Russian relations can only get better.” Historically, few big powers rising simultaneously have shown such a heightened state of strategic mutual trust and global cooperation.
Moreover, China and Russia’s global responsibility deserves the West’s attention. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the two countries have been and remain committed to maintaining world peace and stability. Both China and Russia are signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Chemical Weapons Convention, Biological Weapons Convention and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. They have also actively and consistently called upon the international community to participate in global denuclearization.
The 21st century has been ravaged by such negative and adverse events as the 9/11 attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the global financial crisis, terrorism in the form of IS, refugees, as well as anti-globalization and anti-free trade sentiment. Far from being instigators or causes of these major events, China and Russia are key forces for safeguarding positive world development. The two countries advocate maintenance of the post-World War II international order by supporting globalization, the fight against climate change, reforming the international system, Courtesy of Wang Wen combating terrorism and opposing populism. China and Russia, both in the process of rejuvenation, are positive and stable forces for world progress.