CHINA AND Russia have pledged to work together to combat the global economic crisis and find ways to increase co-operation on financial issues, a sign of growing closeness between the two countries.
“We must use the potential of our co-operation for post-crisis development,” said Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. “The crisis has acted like a catalyst for the reform of the international financial system, and our organisation must take part in that,” said Mr Putin. This closeness is also reflected in where they stand on political issues, such as international efforts to try to pressure Iran to stop its nuclear weapons programme.
The financial crisis has forced both China and Russia to foster relations regarding oil and investment issues in Iran. While the United States and European powers are calling for greater pressure behind demands that Tehran be transparent about its nuclear plans, both Russia and China are urging a more cautious approach.
Premier Wen Jiabao said China was willing “to maintain high-level contacts with Iran, encourage mutual understanding and confidence, promote practical co-operation between the two sides and close co-ordination in international affairs,” hardly remarks to suggest backing for any imminent sanctions.
For his part, Mr Putin said: “There is no need to frighten the Iranians.” Mr Putin was attending a meeting of a regional security group called the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, which is essentially a platform for Russia and China to talk about their complicated relationship.
The Shanghai group lumps many of the world’s outsider nations together, but it is an increasingly important organisation, especially as China has emerged from the financial slowdown in such a strong position.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, trade between Russia and China has boomed, the two have acted in an almost co-ordinated way on international issues and they like to stage regular joint military exercises.
At the heart of the statement was solid evidence of a closeness between two of the world’s great superpowers, one growing strongly and the other fighting to retain influence.
This can be seen in the Russian bars, shopping malls and night clubs in downtown Beijing and many other Chinese cities. The Russian embassy in the Chinese capital is considered the largest in the world.
This closeness is never what it seems, despite the geographical and ideological closeness between the two giant neighbours. This is crucial to the Sino-Russian relationship.
Mr Putin’s visit resulted in a number of major deals to underline that closeness, including a framework agreement on natural gas supplies from west Siberia, the Russian far east and offshore Sakhalin fields to China. Under the agreement, signed by Russian energy giant Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation in the presence of the two prime ministers, 70 billion cubic metres of gas could be supplied to China annually.
As Mr Putin put it, Russian-Chinese relations are of international importance. “Such attention, from the public in our two countries and the international community, is not accidental, because Russian-Chinese relations are an important factor in global affairs,” Mr Putin said during the visit.