President: Pak-China Corridor of Knowledge, Pakistan

Executive Director: The Center for South & International Studies (CSAIS) Islamabad

Regional Expert: Indonesia, China, CPEC & BRI

China and Russia's strategic partnership represents an axis of peace, progress, prosperity and productivity in the world against the western onslaught consisting of bloc mentality and imperialism. Their friendship indeed always acts as a global balancing act deterring the west's containment, encroachment, contradictory and conflicting policies in the region and around the globe, Ednews reports.

During a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping rightly termed China-Russia relations as based on the five principles of mutual respect, win-win cooperation, lasting friendship, strategic coordination, and fairness and justice. Xi labeled mutual talks as sincere and cordial during which both leaders had a comprehensive review of the successful experience in developing the China-Russia relationship over the past 75 years since establishing diplomatic ties.

Xi upheld that China-Russia relationship has become a prime example of a new form of international relations as well as good-neighborly relations between two major countries. Thus right from the inception of their friendship and partnership both countries are following the principles of non-alliance, non-confrontation, not targeting any third party producing regional as well as global peace and stability.

Interestingly, both leaders agreed that growing relations between major and neighboring countries should be based on mutual respect and equality, as well as steadfast mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns. So, it is pivotal to the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era.

Xi ensured that China and Russia will continue to deepen two-way political trust, respect each other's choice of development path, and realize development and revitalization with each other's firm support.

Remarkably, Xi dubbed China and Russia mutual relations as win-win cooperation and the driving force developing a new paradigm of mutual benefit. Despite numerous sanctions and bans on Russia and existence of restrictive trade regimes at the international stage, the increasing bilateral trade amount to US$240 billion during 2023 clearly demonstrates a healthy, productive, positive and participatory socio-economic relationship between two countries in the diverse sectors of economy, investment, joint venture, industrial and manufacturing cooperation.

Therefore, the all-round cooperation of mutual benefit should continue to deepen between the two countries through convergence, tapping of comparative strengths, deepening of the integration of interests and enabling each other's success.

Critical analysis reveals that Xi’s rightly pinpointed an ideal recipe and road map of further strengthening of bilateral relations, consisting of cooperative structural improvements, consolidative trading system and supportive formation of platforms and networks for basic research, continuation of unlocking cooperation potential in frontier areas, stepping up cooperation on ports, transportation and logistics, and help keep the global industrial and supply chains stable. So China-Russia relations carry forward the torch of Sino-Russian friendship.

For the further strengthening of people-to-people contacts and upholding the true colors of multiculturalism and diversity both leaders agreed to implement the Roadmap for China-Russia Cooperation on People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges Before 2030, the two countries are expanding people-to-people and cultural ties. Interestingly Xi and Putin have also set 2024 and 2025 as China-Russia Years of Culture.

Keeping in view the rapidly changing socio-economic dynamics, geopolitical conflicting realities and geostrategic new disturbing paths in the region and beyond the commitments and strategic coordination of both countries are essential for achieving and maintaining fair and free global governance and  safeguarding the UN-centered international system and the international order reinforced by international law. 

Thus their close coordination and collaboration on multilateral platforms such as the UN, APEC and G20, and advance multi-polarity and economic globalization in the spirit of true multilateralism should be the way forward.  Moreover, Russian BRIC and China’s SCO chairmanships should be mutually complementary, building a high-quality partnership, comprehensive, close, practical and inclusive, and build the unity and strength of the Global South.

As responsive members of the world both leaders showed their commitments to uphold fairness and justice as the purpose of relations and dedicated themselves to the political settlement of hotspots. This message is loud and clear that the Cold War mentality, unilateralism, hegemonism, bloc confrontation and power politics should not be exercised to spoil world peace and the security of all countries.

Resolution of the Palestine-Israel conflict through the UN resolutions must be earnestly implemented, and the question of Palestine must be solved on the basis of the two-state solution. Their consensus on a political settlement for the Ukraine crisis is the right way forward.

So China’s constructive impartiality depicts its constant peaceful persuasions of the principles of the UN Charter by respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, respecting the legitimate security concerns of all parties, and building a new security architecture that is balanced, effective and sustainable vividly reflects salient features of the Chinese wisdom achieving wonders in the realms of diplomacy and development.

In summary, the Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era in the Context of the 75th Anniversary of China-Russia Diplomatic Relations covers all aspects of socio-economic prosperity, integration, connectivity, qualitative industrial cooperation, innovation, green transformation and above all political and diplomatic consolidation for mutual successful sailing against the onslaught of the west through decoupling, delinking, notions of overcapacity and constant implementation of Military Complex Theory and containment policies against both the countries.

It is good omen that both countries are not military-political allies, but rather represent a new model of major power relations characterized by non-alignment, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third country.

It has become a model for the development of partnerships between major powers and neighboring countries striving for in the 21st century. Thus every effort of imposing so-called national security to
promote de-globalization and group politics, kidnapping allies to push for "decoupling" and build "small yard, high fence" should be discouraged and discarded.