China should reconsider Russia ties, ‘make friends with more countries’, scholar says

Moscow is taking advantage of and ‘pursuing unilateral use of China’, US affairs expert says during forum hosted by Renmin University
China does not recognise annexation of Ukrainian territories, but war and Western-led sanctions have not stopped Sino-Russian ties from growing closer

US-China relations

Orange Wang

Published: 10:00am, 14 Jun 2023

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China should reflect on its relationship with Russia when dealing with containment by the US-led Western countries, a Chinese expert said as Beijing comes under pressure for its perceived support of Moscow in the Ukraine war.

The academic made the comments during a virtual forum hosted by Renmin University of China’s National Academy of Development and Strategy on Friday.

Liu Weidong, a research fellow at the institute of American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), argued that Moscow had tried to “take advantage” of Beijing, both before and after the start of the war in Ukraine.

“It is pursuing unilateral use of China, and it does not want to be used by China,” he said.

“What we seek is win-win cooperation under the premise of non-alignment,” Liu said, adding he wondered whether this win-win cooperation could be achieved.

He said the Biden administration was trying to link the two countries together on various issues to induce an alliance between Beijing and Moscow. If such an alliance were to be established, it would ultimately result in “mutual exhaustion rather than cooperation”, Liu said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put the “no limits” friendship between Beijing and Moscow under the microscope, and China is facing mounting pressure for its refusal to condemn Russia.

China does not recognise Crimea or four other annexed regions of Ukraine as Russian territory, but the war and ensuing Western sanctions against Russia have not stopped ties between the two neighbours from moving closer in various areas.

Two-way trade between China and Russia remained strong during the first five months of the year, with the value surging by 40.7 per cent from a year earlier, while trade between the US and China – the world’s two largest economies – shrank by 12.3 per cent, according to the latest Chinese customs data, released last Wednesday.

On the military side, senior officials of the two countries agreed to hold more joint drills just days after joint air patrols by Chinese and Russian forces near South Korea and Japan.

Chinese and Russian armed forces agree to hold more joint drills

Zuo Xiying, professor of international relations at Renmin University, said China should balance its relationship with Russia as a way to counteract Washington’s strategy of uniting its allies to contain Beijing.

“China should stand neither with Russia nor with the West. Instead, China should stand in a position that prioritises its own national interests,” he said.

Washington has long criticised Beijing for its refusal to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and warned China earlier this year against providing weapons to Russia.

Beijing has also faced a barrage of criticism from Western countries that say it has not done enough to push Moscow towards a peaceful resolution to the war.

Some critics have argued that a protracted war in Ukraine and a long-term weakening of Russia could serve China’s interests, but China has maintained it is working towards a political settlement of the war – a result that is difficult to achieve at the moment, according to Li Hui, China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs.

02:53

China-Russia joint air patrols spark security concerns in South Korea, Japan

Beijing has repeatedly stated that its relationship with Russia is based on “non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party”, and is not subject to “any interference or discord sown by any third party”.

Liu said China should be more flexible when dealing with increasingly obvious bloc confrontation and compete with the US for “friends”.

Liu added that countries that used to be reluctant to pick sides in the China-US rivalry, such as Japan and South Korea, were firmly following the US, and China should “make friends with more countries”.

“The United States, as the world’s number one power, is making friends, so it is even more necessary for us to compete with the United States for friends … we need to analyse the current situation realistically and innovate our policies based on strategic needs rather than diplomatic forms,” Liu said.

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