Putin is more ‘with’ than ‘in’ China’s belt and road plan, analysts say
- Russian leader has emphasised that Beijing’s initiative ‘corresponds to’ Moscow’s own integration project, the Greater Eurasian Partnership
- Chinese plan ‘advances this goal at a scale that Russia is incapable of, owing to China’s much greater excess capital’, according to observer
According to analysts, Moscow is more “with” than “in” Beijing’s global trade and infrastructure scheme, as it looks to develop its own version that overlaps with China’s vision but is not dependent on Chinese involvement.
He said Moscow was working with foreign partners to build railway routes from Central Siberia south towards China, Mongolia, and Indian and Pacific ocean ports.
“[The belt and road] also rhymes with our idea of creating a Greater Eurasian Partnership as an area of cooperation and interaction among like-minded nations and the alignment of various integration processes,” Putin said.
“Putin considers [the belt and road programme] to be complementary to Russia’s Greater Eurasian Partnership, which refers to his vision of peacefully integrating the supercontinent through the expansion of bilateral trade and non-Western institutions like the SCO,” said Moscow-based international relations expert Andrew Korybko.