India's National Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU
Vol. 15 :: No. 26 :: Dec. 19, 1998 - Jan. 01, 1999
WORLD AFFAIRS
Getting closer to Russia
JOHN CHERIAN
THE two-day visit of Chinese President Jiang Zemin to Moscow did not grab headlines, unlike his visit to Japan. However, the visit has further strengthened relations between the two governments.
The high point of the visit was Jiang's unofficial summit meeting with the ailing Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, in a hospital. This was the sixth meeting between the two leaders and was illustrative of the close relationship between the two countries. While Jiang visited Russia in 1994 and 1997, Yeltsin visited China in 1992, 1996 and 1997.
The two sides adopted a statement on Sino-Russian relations, which noted that "the strategic partnership declared by the two countries, the world's largest and the world's most populous, last year, is not an alliance and is not aimed against third countries." The ten-page comprehensive document said that the partnership would block "elements of confrontation" in their relations and instead focus on cooperation in all sectors.
Jiang and Yeltsin also released a declaration settling the disputes pertaining to certain segments of their 4,300 km-long border. Both sides stressed the need for collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region, the U.N. Security Council and in Central Asia. Importantly, the joint statement called for the creation of a multi-polar world. Both Moscow and Beijing have voiced their resentment over Washington's efforts to be the sole global superpower.
Russia also reiterated its commitment to the "one China" policy and promised to keep its connections with Taiwan at an unofficial level. The two countries also expressed their satisfaction over "the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties" since the establishment of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership in April 1996.
Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji will visit Russia early next year in an effort to enhance the cooperation between the two countries. The joint communique said that China and Russia had similar positions on many issues, including the Balkans, the Gulf region, the Asia-Pacific region and, interestingly, on the situation in South Asia.
Beijing has been critical of the nuclear tests conducted by India in May 1998 and is not on very cordial terms with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government in New Delhi. As for Moscow, though it also has a "strategic relationship" with New Delhi, at this juncture it seems to be giving more emphasis to ties with Beijing. Russia, at the insistence of China, had endorsed the written condemnation of India's nuclear tests at a summit meeting in Central Asia in June.
ITAR TASS / AP
Russian
President Boris Yeltsin meets Jiang Zemin at a hospital in Moscow on November
23.
Russia and China share important economic interests as well, although Sino-Russian trade has fallen in recent years. In 1997 Russia won a $3.5-billion contract to build a nuclear power plant in China. Russia also hopes to be a major supplier of energy for China's booming economy. But the meltdown of the Russian economy has raised some doubts in Beijing about Moscow's capability to meet its energy needs. China is determined to play an active role in the global energy economy and is therefore not putting all its eggs in the Russian basket. Beijing has signed separate oil and gas pipeline deals with Kazakhstan, but it has indicated that it respects Russia's traditional sphere of influence in Central Asia.
Both Beijing and Moscow feel threatened by the growing U.S.-Japanese alliance. Both countries also remain opposed to the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Most of all, they dread the continuing spread of U.S. economic and geo-political influence. Hence the continuing stress on multipolarity.
Both Moscow and Beijing are convinced that it is in the interest of world peace and stability that the U.S. influence is reduced and diluted. The moribund state of the leadership in Moscow has prevented Russia from taking the lead in trying to curtail U.S. influence. The Chinese, on the other hand, have taken the initiative.
The Russian Ambassador to Beijing told the Chinese media that Jiang's latest visit was a signal that decades of hostility between the two countries had been supplanted by a powerful "strategic partnership" whose goal was to create a "new order" to challenge the U.S. domination of the world.
Chinese Defence Minister Chi Haotian, on a visit to Singapore, which is a strong ally of Washington, said that security in the region could not be achieved through military alliances. In a policy speech, the first delivered in the region by a Chinese Defence Minister, he made it clear that China was unhappy with the present situation wherein Washington and Tokyo played pivotal roles. Chi said that China wanted a new arrangement based on "mutual trust and common interests", which would replace military alliances. At the same time he said that the Chinese defence build-up did not constitute a threat to any country. "China will never seek to be a superpower and never seek hegemonism," he asserted.
China and Russia have renounced military action against each other along their long border. The border accord between the two countries also contains confidence-building measures (CBMs) with detailed provisions for transparency and mutual contacts, which could be examples for other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The two countries have also displayed a strong commitment to promoting bilateral ties on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
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