Last month, Russian President Putin visited China to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. Chinese President Xi Jinping received Putin with great courtesy and friendliness. The two leaders agreed to deepen the “Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership for a New Era” and issued a statement criticizing Western countries for trying to replace the widely accepted international law-based order with what is often called a “rules-based order.” With regard to the war in Ukraine, [Russia] He positively evaluated China’s objective and impartial stance on the “Ukraine issue.” [Russia] They also agreed that the crisis must be resolved in accordance with the UN Charter, and welcomed China’s constructive role in resolving the “Ukraine crisis” through diplomatic channels.
Of course, this Chinese and Russian worldview and behavior is not accepted by Western countries. There is a strong tendency to view China and Russia as one monolith, and to view and be wary of not only China and Russia, but also Iran and North Korea as a group of countries that form some kind of axis. There is also a fair amount of discourse that Russia is continuing the war in Ukraine because of China’s military support. In this context, President Putin’s visit to China is seen as a top-level meeting aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation. Many Western countries point out that China is beginning to position Russia as a junior partner.
In China, official media coverage emphasizing the significance of President Putin’s visit and the summit was prominent, but there were also many voices concerned about getting too close to Russia, and Chinese authorities did not seem to have made any moves to remove such opinions from the Internet. For example, there are voices that even if President Putin requests full support from China, China will not be able to fully respond, and will not be able to supply weapons. There is also almost no discussion of viewing Russia as a subordinate partner or making China subordinate to Russia. Official media also assume that Russia is not an ally, and that they are cooperating in line with their respective national interests. Official media and private discussions both agree that there is not full dependence.
Meanwhile, Chinese media have published numerous foreign media reports stating that Western countries are concerned about China and Russia getting closer. In particular, there have been widespread reports in China that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is opposed to Sino-Russian cooperation. However, while there are concerns that the rapprochement between the two countries will worsen relations with Western countries, there are also voices stating that improving Sino-Russian relations could actually strengthen relations with Western countries. The thinking is that if relations between China and Russia worsen, Western countries will look down on China and take tougher measures against it. Therefore, they argue, Beijing should approach Moscow with its relations with the US and Western countries in mind.
Within China, it is difficult to access international news reports, especially from the West. As a result, Chinese values and perceptions tend to dominate in Chinese-speaking countries. Recognizing that there is at least some diversity of thought in the Chinese-speaking world, the West needs to step up its efforts to penetrate the information space.
Makoto Kawashima is a professor at the University of Tokyo.
