The Economist: What does the Russian-Chinese anti-American alliance means in practice?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed on Thursday to deepen their strategic partnership while accusing the United States of trying to violate the strategic balance in world affairs.
The two presidents issued a joint statement filled with coded signals from Russian and Chinese leadership to the world against U.S. attempts to assert its hegemony over areas of the world from which it should stay away.
The document, some of which were published by The Economist, talks about deepening inclusive partnership, strategic cooperation and entering a new era.
It says Russia and China are determined to defend their legitimate rights and interests, resist any attempts to obstruct the normal development of bilateral relations, interfere in the internal affairs of the two countries, and restrict the economic, technological or foreign policy capabilities of Russia and China.
The British magazine cited some of the two leaders’ questions, including their grievances against the United States, saying that Putin resents US support for Ukraine and sees a parity between his claim to part of historic Russia and China’s claim to Taiwan.
The Chinese president is cautious about supporting Putin very openly on Ukraine, but the joint statement says, “The Russian side positively assesses China’s goal and unbiased position on the Ukraine issue”.
In return, Russia affirms its “adherence to the principle of ‘one China’, recognizes that Taiwan is an integral part of China, opposes Taiwan’s independence in any way, and firmly supports the actions of the Chinese side to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
President Xi seems to be constantly testing the United States and its allies on Taiwan, but any attempt to claim the island by military force remains a risky task.
The problem is that this is what most of the West portrays about Putin’s ambition to fully occupy and absorb Ukraine.
And the answer to the question: Is this a resumption of the Cold War?
The Russian-Chinese joint statement said, “The United States continues to think from the perspective of the Cold War and is guided by the logic of confrontation between the blocs, which creates a security threat to all countries in the region; The United States must abandon this behavior”.
As for what Putin and Xi will do next, the Economist noted that Putin’s next goal at the 2024 BRICS summit, to be held in Russia in October, is to use the bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates to counterbalance the dominance of Western financial institutions.
The loud word at this summit will be getting rid of the dollar, an attempt to reduce dependence on the US dollar for international trade and finance.
