China and Russia: the world's new superpower axis?

[Vikrant]

I don't know if it can technically be called an axis but ...

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Forget euro summits and G7 gatherings: for the countries that like to style themselves as the world’s rising powers, the real summitry takes place this week in central Russia, where Vladimir Putin will hold court.

Leaders of the Brics countries (Brazil, India, China and South Africa) will meet Putin in Ufa on Wednesday, then make way for the Asian powers grouped in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Russia and China are the common denominators, as in so much geopolitics these days. The UN security council, Apec, the G20 - Russia and China are the ever-presents, a powerful pairing whose interests coincide more often than not.

Moscow and Beijing have lots in common apart from a 2,500-mile border, economies dominated by state-run firms and oligarchies that can enrich themselves as long as they play by the prevailing political mood of the day.

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China and Russia the world s new superpower axis World news The Guardian

 

[Unkotare]

Don't worry , push comes to shove they haters h other

 

[Unkotare]

Russia will never let go of their racist feelings of superiority, and China will never let a grudge go - ever

 

[Unkotare]

Wanting to diminish the U.S. Is not motivation enough for either.

 

[Vikrant]

Don't worry , push comes to shove they haters h other

They are both oligarchy and that is why they are drawn towards each other.

 

[Unkotare]

Don't worry , push comes to shove they haters h other

They are both oligarchy and that is why they are drawn towards each other.

But they hate each other / bottom line

 

[Vikrant]

Wanting to diminish the U.S. Is not motivation enough for either.

Apart from Japan who already is an US ally, US has some potential friends in that region in countries like India, Vietnam, etc if state department can play its cards wisely.

India has been reluctant to join U.S. against Russia (and China) because of past friendship between India and Russia but lately Russians have been taking India for granted. So, I think we have some interesting years ahead of us as far as geopolitics is concerned.

 

[Treeshepherd]

China is a powder keg.
Big trouble in big China Jon Talton The Seattle Times
The Great Firewall of China is showing cracks. It's the same old story as with the Mongols and the Opium Wars... can't keep the world out forever.

Russia did the Gazprom with China. But, I see them more aligning with Greece, Turkey, Syria and Iran.

 

[GHook93]

Don't worry , push comes to shove they haters h other

Very true, if you look at their history they have more hate then love for one another. Russia is still worry about Chinese illegal immigration. In fact Russia has problems with Chinese illegal immigrants that the US has with Mexican illegal immigrants. They have issues with China stealing their manufactured goods base.

They have a cooperative agreement, but the relationship is always on thin ice.

 

[bendog]

Don't worry , push comes to shove they haters h other

They are both oligarchy and that is why they are drawn towards each other.

The US is run as an oligarchy too. But in Russia and China, the legitimacy of single party rule is based on the promise that the party (or in Russia the cult of the Leader) is the oligarchy. In our nominal democracies, like the US and western Europe, we have central banks that not controlled by the party (ies). But the oligarchs always try to buy the govt.

But the bottom line is both Russia and China still have the govt allocated much of the capital, or at least the oligarchs have to get govt approval. It's proving a problem in both countries. I'm not sure a simple econ alliance between them really solves the structural problem.

 

[Vikrant]

...

But more than a year after the two countries initiated most of their bilateral projects, there has been no significant progress, and some projects have been abandoned altogether.

China has been much more interested in developing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which Moscow was hesitant to join. Compared with its more tepid involvement in the drawn-out process of creating the NDB, where it enjoys no privileged voting rights vis-à-vis other members, Beijing aggressively pursued the AIIB project and made a concerted diplomatic effort to involve as many states as possible. Russia repeatedly rejected Chinese invitations to join the bank, but eventually signed up in March, just days before the deadline to become a founding member.

Even in the energy sector, the two countries have struggled to carry out their plans. Although they began constructing the eastern pipeline in September 2014, energy analysts have recently doubted whether gas shipments can begin in 2018 as scheduled, due to a disagreement over a $25 billion pre-payment to finance pipeline construction that China had pledged. In September Gazprom a official said that the question of the payment was still "hanging in the air."

The two countries have yet to agree on the exact route, construction financing and, above all, the price of gas supplies on the western "Altai" gas pipeline project. Beijing is unlikely to offer Moscow attractive prices for gas imports through the pipeline, since it would deliver gas to remote regions of China that are already well-supplied by Central Asian gas pipelines and far away from China's eastern industrial heartland where gas demand is highest.

Meanwhile, China and Russia have so far also been unable to agree on the price for the proposed Chinese stake in the Vankor oil and gas field.

The limited progress of Sino-Russian economic initiatives is consistent with Beijing's broader response to the Ukraine crisis. Although China's state-controlled media has expressed understanding for Moscow's actions in Ukraine, and senior Chinese officials have publicly opposed the West's sanctions against Russia, Beijing has refused to provide diplomatic support to Moscow where it matters most. The Chinese leadership has not formally recognized the annexation of Crimea. It did not vote with Russia on Ukraine-related resolutions in the UN Security Council and General Assembly, and it was quick to develop good relations with the new authorities in Ukraine.

A few days after the overthrow of the Yanukovych government, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China "respects the independent choice made by the Ukrainian people," and Beijing has since deepened cooperation with Kiev in agriculture and other sectors.

Moreover, China's relentless economic expansion in the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan is causing concern in Moscow. Central Asia analysts warn that the Kremlin's strong-arm tactics in Ukraine - such as spurring separatist unrest among the region's ethnic Russian population, or using its military bases in the region as launch pads for covert military operations - might in the future be directed against China's interests in countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan.

China and Russia are often depicted as having closed ranks in response to the Ukraine crisis. But they've made little progress in the bilateral economic and financial projects that they've announced with considerable fanfare.

The recent warming in Sino-Russian relations should not be overstated. It does not mark a tectonic shift in international relations, and Moscow's renewed romance with Beijing has little potential to break its deepening international isolation.

COLUMN-Why Russia s turn to China is a mirage Reuters

 

[irosie91]

Don't worry , push comes to shove they haters h other

They are both oligarchy and that is why they are drawn towards each other.

so true VIK-----lets hope that India RUNS LIKE A RABBIT WITH ITS TAIL ON FIRE

 

[bendog]

Don't worry , push comes to shove they haters h other

They are both oligarchy and that is why they are drawn towards each other.

so true VIK-----lets hope that India RUNS LIKE A RABBIT WITH ITS TAIL ON FIRE

Well that's true. I can see why Russia and China find some common ground, though I don't see how that really benefits the Chinese people. But aside from Russian and Chinese interest in Pakistan, I don't see what either have to offer India ... beyond India maintaining is historical non-aligned status.

 

[Vikrant]

Don't worry , push comes to shove they haters h other

They are both oligarchy and that is why they are drawn towards each other.

so true VIK-----lets hope that India RUNS LIKE A RABBIT WITH ITS TAIL ON FIRE

Well that's true. I can see why Russia and China find some common ground, though I don't see how that really benefits the Chinese people. But aside from Russian and Chinese interest in Pakistan, I don't see what either have to offer India ... beyond India maintaining is historical non-aligned status.

India has traditionally been friends with all eastern European countries including Russia, Ukraine, etc. India and Russia along with India and Israel have very strong defense co-operation. China and Pakistan on the other hand have attacked India quite a few times and they co-ordinate with each other. Recently, tension between India and China has been decreasing but they are far from being friends.

 

[Vikrant]

Putin, Modi talk yoga and strategy

Among the first engagements Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held on his arrival at Ufa on Wednesday was a crucial meeting with his host, Russian President Vladimir Putin. Modi came in from Astana, the Kazakhstan capital, to Ufa, capital of Russia’s Bashkortostan Republic, for the BRICS and SCO summits scheduled over the next two days.

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Putin Modi talk yoga and strategy Russia India Report