Russia and China are increasingly coordinating their policies
It is therefore not surprising that Sergey Lavrov’s visit to China, which began on Monday, was clearly timed to coincide with the US-China talks in Alaska last week. Not because Russian-Chinese relations are focused only on America, it is just that Beijing also wanted to inform Moscow about the results of its first meetings with the Biden administration. But it turned out that by the time Lavrov arrived in Guilin, it was the American topic that had become key for Moscow and Beijing.
First, Joe Biden became famous in the history of diplomacy for his rudeness towards Putin. In response, Russia recalled its ambassador to Washington. And then the press suddenly witnessed the stormy start of the US-China talks in Anchorage. Not a short protocol part, but the first hour of the meeting between Secretary of State Blinken and the US Presidential Aide Sullivan with Politburo member of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China – Yang Jiechi – and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. An exchange of unprecedentedly tough statements took place, which became the main sensation of all two-day negotiations. And they cannot be canceled by the wording from the official messages following the meetings: the parties agreed to “maintain dialogue and contacts, develop mutually beneficial cooperation, prevent misunderstandings and erroneous judgments, avoid conflicts and confrontation” and expressed their hope for the continuation of the dialogue at a high level.
Because at the very beginning of the meeting, the Chinese accused the Americans of unfriendly actions: just the day before, Washington imposed sanctions against high-ranking Chinese politicians (mainly MPs) for repressing Hong Kong (that is, reforming the electoral law). And at the meeting in Anchorage, Blinken said about “deep concern over China’s actions, including in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyber attacks on the United States, economic pressure on American allies” – and with an openly defiant wording: “Each of these actions threatens the law and order that allows maintaining global stability”.
Considering that both Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and even independent but legally unrecognized Taiwan are considered China’s internal affairs in Beijing, American pressure could not remain unanswered.
Here are just a few quotes from Yang Jiechi.
“In the presence of the Chinese side, the US has no right to declare that it is going to speak with China from a position of strength. And even 20 or 30 years ago, the American side had no right to say that, because it is impossible to deal with the Chinese people and settle things like that. If the US wants to properly interact with the Chinese side, then let’s follow the necessary protocols and do the right thing”.
“On some regional issues, I think the problem is that the US is pushing and spreading its influence too far”.
“<…> The United States itself is not the spokesman for international public opinion, just like the Western world. Regardless of whether it is based on the size of the population or global trends, the Western world is not the spokesman for global public opinion. Therefore, we hope that when speaking about human values or international public opinion on behalf of the United States, the American side will think about whether it feels confident in saying this, because the United States is not the representative of the whole world. They only represent the United States government!”
In addition, Yang accused the Americans of “abusing the postulates of national security, hindering normal trade relations, and inciting some other countries to attack China,” but the United States will not be able to “strangle China” and Beijing will not put up with baseless accusations of sides of the United States.
Seventy-year-old Yang is a member of the Politburo of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, heading the office of the Central Committee’s Foreign Affairs Commission, that is, he is the curator of foreign policy in the Chinese leadership.
And until 2013, he was foreign minister, until he was replaced by Wang Yi. That is, just at the time of the Yang Jiechi ministry, the Obama-Biden administration tried to build the “big two”, “Chimerica”, an alliance between China and America, aimed at preserving the existing international system led by the United States, but with the growing involvement of China as a junior partner. Beijing then quite rightly rejected this crafty offer-trap – although the Americans were very persistent and intrusive. Even in the current negotiations, Secretary of State Blinken recalled those years.
“I remember well when President Biden was vice president and we were in China <…> and at that time Vice President Biden said that it is never worth going against America, and it is still relevant today”.
Do not dare to go against us (that is, in fact, against the world order we have built) – it will be worse for you (subtext – we will destroy you). This is one of the favorite arguments of American geopolitics, but now it no longer works. And the fact that American leaders themselves do not notice that they are no longer afraid of them and continue to use this “last argument” only confirms how inadequately they assess the new alignment of forces in the world.
Therefore, Biden’s words about Putin cannot be attributed only to the health problems of the American president – this is only part of the general illness of the American elite, more precisely, its globalist-minded part (to which, for example, Donald Trump does not belong).
It is this geopolitical inadequacy that is becoming the main quality of American politics, exacerbating the already growing problems of the United States on the world stage. Moreover, it is not only about the fact that by its simultaneous pressure on Moscow and Beijing, Washington only strengthens Russian-Chinese cooperation, that is, it acts contrary to its own interests, it is much worse for the Biden administration that the rest of the world sees such an inept game. And he makes a simple conclusion. Akela not only missed (this happened back in 2014, with an attempt to isolate Russia) – he is confused and behaving stupidly.
The Chinese understand this very well, therefore they are tightening their rhetoric and position. For all their China-centricity and some fears about Russia (suddenly betray, go back to the West and stab in the back – these fears are dispersed by our common Western “friends”), they increasingly understand the importance of strengthening the alliance between the two countries. It is no longer enough just to stand “back to back” – as our relations in Beijing characterized – it is high time to counterattack more and more actively.
It is not surprising, therefore, Beijing’s benevolent reaction to the proposal, expressed in an interview with Lavrov to the Chinese media, “to form the widest possible coalition of countries that will fundamentally oppose the illegal practice of unilateral sanctions”. Lavrov stressed that “in parallel, we need to strengthen our independence”, including by opposing the American policy to limit the development opportunities of Russia and China.
“We need to reduce sanctions risks by strengthening our technological independence, by moving to settlements in national currencies and in world currencies, alternative to the dollar. We need to move away from the use of international payment systems controlled by the West”.
Russia and China are ready for new steps towards building a new world, because they understand that the wind of history is blowing in their sails. As Lavrov said, “life forces us to build our line in economic and social development in such a way as not to depend on those “quirks” that are demonstrated by our Western partners”.
“They are promoting their ideologized agenda aimed at maintaining their dominance by holding back the development of other countries. This policy runs counter to the objective trend and, as it was customary to say, is “on the wrong side of history”. The historical process will take its toll anyway”.
In the coming months, personal contacts between the two leaders will also resume: according to unofficial data, Putin and Xi may meet first in China and then in Russia. After a long hiatus due to the coronavirus – and the last time they met almost a year and a half ago, at a summit in Brazil – the two presidents not only have something to discuss, but also what to do. And no longer in the sphere of Russian-Chinese relations – against the background of American inadequacy, Putin and Xi now have even more responsibility and opportunities.
Pyotr Akopov, RIA