Are Russia and China Forming an Alliance?

Good morning everyone. I’m Michele Carroll and welcome to the News Diet. Today I’m gonna talk about the growing relationship between Russia and China. Let’s be informed so we can get on with our day.

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It’s been announced that Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi are going to be meeting next in Uzbekistan. The nature of the talks hasn’t been fully revealed, but signs of a strengthening relationship between the two have been highlighted throughout much of this year. 

In many regards, both Russia and China find themselves at odds with many current western sentiments. It’s no secret that the authoritarian leaders don't abide by many democratic ideals of the west like free speech, freedom of the press, or minority rights. Both regimes are known for jailing government dissenters like journalists, or even regular citizens. China even censors the internet available to the Chinese people, restricting some content from the outside world that paints the country in a bad light or portrays ideals incompatible with the Chinese government. And Russia has had to battle accusations of poisoning dissenters.

Also, both countries share similar desires to secure what they deem to be rightful ownership of otherwise independent regions. We’re all familiar with the ongoing conflict continuing in Ukraine, where it's been six months since Russia invaded. They haven’t clearly stated that the point of the war is to bring Ukraine back under Russia’s control, but all signs are pointing to that, especially considering that Russia did annex Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula just eight years ago. China is close to a similar situation with the island of Taiwan, who’s been independently governed since 1949. No invasion has taken place, but President Xi has made it clear that they consider Taiwan as a part of the mainland, and has warned governments from around the world from supporting Taiwan over them. They’ve recently conducted military drills near the island and condemned a recent visit from US Secretary of State Nancy Pelosi.

The war in Ukraine has inherently formed a east/west divide - as many western countries have come to the defense of Ukraine by providing financial aid, military equipment and even weapons to help fight off the Russian forces. Also, western nations have expedited the expansion of the military alliance NATO to include members Sweden and Finland, which Putin considers a threat to Russia considering Finland shares a border. In addition to the aid and NATO expansions, the west has enacted very strict sanctions against Russia that have cut off much of the country from international financial and trade systems that have consequently caused an energy crisis in Europe and food and supply shortages around the world.

So, Russia is likely looking for allies. And while China hasn’t blatantly expressed support for Russia regarding the conflict, they have referred to the US as the “main instigator” and have provided Russia with much needed support in the form of cars and smartphones. In fact, China and Russia have just signed a gas deal to start fulfilling gas supply contracts in Russian currency rubles or Chinese currency yuan instead of euros or dollars. This comes as Russia is stalling the delivery of gas to Europe who rely heavily on Russia for their energy. They say it’s because western sanctions have prevented the ability to conduct necessary repairs to the gas pipeline Nord Stream 1, but western parties involved say that this isn’t true and that it’s a stalling tactic. Regardless, as the west has attempted to divest and boycott Russia, others, like China, are looking to take political and economic advantage. 

The meetup between the two leaders would likely take place in Uzbekistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization next week which will also include six other asian nations as well. This will be President Xi’s first time leaving China since the start of the covid pandemic.

The suspicions of a strengthening relationship between Putin and Xi come at the same time as a US intelligence finding has revealed that the Russian Ministry of Defense could be in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea. This finding indicates that Russian forces could be struggling to replenish their resources as the fighting continues, but also that Putin could be forging ties with other authoritarian leaders as well. Russia’s UN ambassador has denied this finding.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-xi-meet-face-face-next-week-first-meeting-since-war-ukraine

https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-reiterates-support-russias-sovereignty-security-xi-jinping-putin

https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-reiterates-support-russias-sovereignty-security-xi-jinping-putin

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/09/07/world/ukraine-russia-war

https://apnews.com/article/putin-xi-to-meet-in-uzbekistan-84239cfea4b649e3d184561ffc734622

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-north-korea-government-and-politics-495e976d1217d38c397a16e79cc305de

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/petrochina-signs-gas-agreement-with-russias-gazprom-2022-09-07/