Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing today for
summit talks with President Hu
Jintao. When reviewing the
Sino-Russian strategic partnership since its introduction a
decade ago, people are justified in their belief that this
partnership has great vitality and bright prospects.
As China's important neighbor, Russia has long been the priority
of Chinese decision-makers in their working out of China's
diplomatic policy.
The Chinese Government, acting on the principles of promoting
international peace and expanding overseas co-operation, has
managed to elevate China-Russia relations to ever higher levels.
Boris Yeltsin, the then Russian president, paid a visit to China in
December 1992, the first since the Soviet Union disintegrated. The
visit yielded a joint communiqu, which stated that both China and
Russia regarded each other as friendly nations and that both
countries were committed to developing good neighborly and mutually
beneficial ties.
This was the first clear definition of Sino-Russian ties,
rounding off the process of shifting from Sino-Soviet relations to
Sino-Russian, and clearing away the two-way misgivings about sharp
fluctuations in mutual relations, which were triggered by the
disintegration of the Soviet Union.
During the visit to Moscow by Jiang Zemin, the then Chinese
president, in September 1994, the relationship between the two
countries was raised to the status of constructive partnership.
This is because the two parties had found that, in their
dealings with each other since December 1992, they had more common
grounds and mutual interests than they had expected.
Top leaders of the two countries met again in April 1996 in
Beijing and agreed to lift their relationship to a higher level
strategic partnership.
From this time on, China-Russia ties have not been merely
bilateral ties. Instead, their co-operation has covered global,
regional and bilateral issues. A co-operation mechanism that
involves regular communications between the heads of state,
premiers and various government departments and covers various
sectors was introduced.
The Treaty of Good Neighborliness and Friendly Co-operation
between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation
signed in 2001 put all the accomplishments mentioned above onto a
legal footing.
Effective co-operation between China and Russia in the fields of
world security and crises and emergencies handling indicates that
the Sino-Russo strategic partnership has become an important factor
in ushering in a multilateral framework of world politics and
bringing equality into international relations.
Regional co-operation is another important aspect in the
Sino-Russian strategic partnership.
The two countries, for instance, co-sponsored the Shanghai
five-country forum in April 1996, involving China, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The mechanism brought about
trust among the five countries in terms of military affairs in
their border areas. It also addressed disarmament issues,
de-militarized zones and settled frontier demarcation issues.
This seed blossomed into the Shanghai Co-operation Organization
in June 2001, introducing a new model for regional co-operation in
the post-Cold War world.
The organization, grouping China, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has worked effectively
against terrorism, separatism and extremism, and promoted regional
security, trade and business co-operation.
When the second round of the nuclear crisis cropped up on the
Korean Peninsula in late 2002, Sino-Russian co-operative mechanisms
largely facilitated the defusing of the crisis.
What is more, China and Russia are indispensable to preventing
the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula from deteriorating again
and to the final settlement of the issue.
With regard to bilateral co-operation, a mechanism has been
instituted in which both countries' heads of state and premiers
meet regularly. Moreover, under the institution, relevant
government departments from both sides communicate with each other
on a regular basis.
Border issues between China and Russia have also been settled in
the general context of good bilateral relations. In addition, trade
and business co-operation between the two countries, especially in
the area of energy resources, has made greater headway than
expected. The military co-operation has also been raised to a
higher level and spread to cover a wider scope.
Strategic co-operation between the two countries globally,
regionally and bilaterally enjoy still wider prospects.
With respect to world issues, the two countries have much to do
in promoting the reform of the Unites Nations, safeguarding the
UN's supreme position in handling world security matters, opposing
abusive use of economic sanctions in dealing with international
crises, checking unilateralism and keeping outer space free of
"Star Wars" weapons.
In regional co-operation, it is imperative for China and Russia
to see that democracy in Central Asian nations goes ahead in an
orderly and smooth manner according to the specific conditions of
the countries, and that security matters and economic co-operation
in this region develop steadily.
The prospects of co-operation in the field of energy resources
supply and demand are expected to increase strategic
interdependence. Also, exchanges in defence technology and
co-ordination of military acts are of great significance.
China-Russia strategic co-operation is not directed against any
third party. This is determined by the non-alignment nature of
their relationship and by the policy target of the two countries,
which is aimed at mutual benefit for all members of the
international community. This is also determined by their
intentions to safeguard world peace and international legal norms,
and by their need to have peaceful international environment
favourable to their overall development, economic progress in
particular.
The author is a professor from the Institute of Russian,
East European and Central Asian Studies affiliated to the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences.
(China Daily March 20, 2006)
