China and Russia don't need a military alliance, says Moscow's ambassador
China and Russia do not need to establish a military alliance because their relationship is strong enough already, the Russian ambassador to Beijing has said.
"Russian-Chinese cooperation has gone beyond a traditional alliance in many areas," Russian ambassador Andrey Denisov told reporters at the embassy on Tuesday.
In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin, when asked about a possible alliance, replied: "We have not set that goal for ourselves. But, in principle, we are not going to rule it out either."
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It was the first time a Russian leader had made such a suggestion since the pact between Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong collapsed in acrimony.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a ceremony at which Xi received a degree from St Petersburg State University at a Russian economic forum in 2019. Photo: Reuters alt=Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a ceremony at which Xi received a degree from St Petersburg State University at a Russian economic forum in 2019. Photo: Reuters
Denisov said: "I think the remarks by President Putin implied that our cooperation has gone beyond the traditional alliance and that further moves could be made if necessary, but the relationship is already good enough."
The two sides have been drawing closer in recent years as both saw their relationship with the United States deteriorate, but the ambassador said an alliance would not fit with their model for bilateral cooperation that "does not target any third party".
"China and Russia oppose a bloc mentality," Denisov said through a translator. "China and Russia have not created a bloc and our two countries are autonomous players on the international platform, maintaining a large level of autonomy, which is also in line with the logic of multilateralism that we have promoted."
Densiov also said that in an alliance one country would be more dominant, citing Nato as an example, and such a relationship would not be "fully equal and goes against the logic behind the developing relations between Russia and China".
The two countries have established a dialogue on security and defence, which Denisov said allows them to "jointly assess external risks and dangers through discussions and negotiations, which means our cooperation in this area has exceeded a traditional military alliance".
Russian, Chinese and Mongolian troops pictured during a parade following a 2018 training exercise. Photo: AFP alt=Russian, Chinese and Mongolian troops pictured during a parade following a 2018 training exercise. Photo: AFP
This year President Xi Jinping has had five telephone conversations with Putin, more than any other world leader, and in the most recent show of solidarity last week, their militaries carried out a joint patrol by flying bombers over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.
Some 8,000 Russians took part in trials for a Covid-19 vaccine made by the Chinese firm CanSino, while Russia's sovereign wealth fund is in talks with a Chinese pharmaceutical company over manufacturing and selling Russia's Sputnik V vaccine in China, the ambassador said.
While economic ties have traditionally been dominated by Russia's oil and gas exports, the two sides are seeking to diversify bilateral trade, which remains far off the target of reaching US$200 billion by 2024.
Chinese official data recorded a 35 per cent increase in Russian agricultural exports to China in the first half year, and Denisov said cooperation on Arctic-related infrastructure would be high on the agenda.
Putin's new Arctic development strategy will see a number of economic zones established in the country's far north along with two major transport hubs in Murmansk in Russia's northwest and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the other side of the vast country to boost cargo shipments along the route.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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