China-Russia Strategic Partnership: News and Analyses

[Shotgunner51]

Russia Boasts of ‘Unprecedented’ Ties With China
By Damien Sharkov On 4/12/17 at 8:21 AM

Ambassador Andrei Denisov

Relations between Russia and China have reached an “unprecedented” high, Moscow’s Ambassador to Beijing told state news agency Itar-Tass.

“Relations between Russia and China are at an unprecedented level,” Ambassador Andrei Denisov said Wednesday.

“The closeness of our contact is off the charts.”​

Moscow has gone to great lengths to affirm its relationship with the economically prosperous China, particularly since 2014 when Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine dramatically worsened its relationship with European states. Last year Russia and China launched a mass naval drill together in the South China Sea.

Over 50 Russian federal entities have “brotherly” ties to Chinese provinces, Denisov stated, adding that contact will only grow in the run-up to September 2017’s BRICS summit of emerging national economies in Xiamen, Fujian Province, in eastern China, which encompasses Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Through participation in the BRICS group and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, as well as political delegations to China, Russia has sought to present China as a major partner. According to state polls, the majority of Russians now consider China a strategic and economic partner.

​

Despite relative closeness on planned energy and trade projects, analysts remain skeptical about the level of trust between Moscow and Beijing for any long-term political commitments.

http://www.newsweek.com/russia-boasts-unprecedented-ties-china-582886

 

[Taimoor Khan]

Keep us in the loop

The American led world order must come to an end and if not fully uprooted, a parallel world order by Pakistan China and Russia must be available to the rest of the world.

 

[TaiShang]

Russia is China's most significant strategic partner. Other partnerships are important, but they are not existential. China_Russia partnership is geopolitically existential and cannot be compromised.

 

[TaiShang]

Decoupling: China Overtakes Germany as Russia's Main Machine Imports Supplier

The Chinese are reliable, the Germans are not, it's that simple

RI Staff



Deutsche Welle:

For the first time ever, China's annual machinery exports to Russia exceeded those of Germany, fresh 2016 figures from Germany's Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) revealed Tuesday.

It reported that China delivered machinery worth 4.9 billion euros ($5.2 billion) to Russia last year, compared with orders from Germany totaling 4.4 billion euros.

The trend reversal had been expected following EU economic sanctions imposed against Russia over its perceived role in the Ukraine conflict and the annexation of Crimea.

"Chinese suppliers are clearly at an advantage at the moment," VDMA's Monika Hollacher said in a statement. "They don't have to grapple with any sanctions and, when needed, provide their own financing offers to boot."

Makes every sense. When you buy expensive industrial machinery you want to get it from people who will be willing to sell you spare parts as well. Not just today but also years and decades from now.

With Germany in thrall of Washington and the spectre of more sanctions always looming buying German isn't terribly attractive.

@BRICSFTW , @somsak , @JSCh , @ahojunk , @cirr , @vostok , @Chinese-Dragon , @samsara , @Jlaw

 

[JSCh]

China-Russia-China cargo service opens in NE China
(Xinhua) 19:42, April 12, 2017

HARBIN, April 12 -- A regular joint land and maritime cargo service from a northeastern Chinese city to an eastern Chinese port via a Russian port opened Tuesday, local authorities said.

The first batch of goods, including grain, petrochemical products, and starch, were transported by train from Suifenhe city along China's border with Russia in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province to Vostochny Port in Russia, according to the government of Suifenhe City.

A ship loaded with the goods in 290 standard containers set out from Vostochny Port Tuesday. It is scheduled to arrive at Taicang Port, eastern China's Jiangsu Province, on Friday, shortening the transport time from 10 days to around five.

The cargo ship will start its return journey on Sunday from Taicang Port, carrying electronic products, light industrial products and textile products to be exported to Russia, and is expected to reach Vostochny Port on April 19.

The new service along the route is operated by a Heilongjiang-registered company. Before the service opened, cargo services along the China-Russia-China route were all operated by foreign companies.

Li Lidan, president of the company, said the China-Russia-China land and maritime joint transport route had directly shortened the journey between Heilongjiang and southern China to make the transport more efficient and lower transport costs.

 

[TaiShang]

Russian, Chinese Ships Tail USS Carl Vinson in East China Sea

03:49 17.04.2017(updated 04:04 17.04.2017)

Beijing and Moscow have launched intelligence-gathering vessels to follow the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier as it travels toward the Korean Peninsula, according to numerous sources in the Japanese government.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its group are believed to be in waters around the East China Sea, heading north toward the Korean Peninsula.

China and Russia, which prioritize stability on the Korean Peninsula, have expressed their concern over the tough US stance towards North Korea, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying the issue should be resolved peacefully through political and diplomatic efforts.

The dispatch of the intelligence-gathering vessels may be aimed at sending a warning signal to the United States, reports have speculated.

No official comments from the Russian Defense Ministry were available at the time of publication.

According to media reports, North Korea had not called off a new nuclear test, despite the recent failure on the 105th anniversary of the birthday of Kim Il-sung, the late founder of the Republic. The US carrier is believed to have been dispatched to increase military pressure on North Korea and urge Pyongyang to reconsider its military aspirations.

North Korea has already threatened to destroy the carrier in the case of US military aggression.

"The closer large targets, such as the nuclear carrier, come to our shores, the more effective will be our devastating strike," the North Korean defense ministry statement read, according to various media reports.

 

[TaiShang]

Russia, China Dispatch Listening Ships to Track US Carrier en Route to North Korea

A good update if slightly on the dramatic side。

Zero Hedge



Video has been released allegedly showing a mass military mobilization in Vladivostok, Russia, just eight miles from the border with North Korea, as the world edges towards war.

As The Express reports, the dramatic move, unconfirmed by the Russian government, was spotted by residents in the border city and posted on social media.

According to the reports, a military convoy of eight surface-to-air missiles, part of Russian Air Defence, were on the move.

The S400 anti-aircraft missiles were moved to Vladivostok, where Vladimir Putin already has a major navy base.

Furthermore, As the following footage shows (beginning at aorund 1:20 below) Chinese military assets are also being moved to the North Korean border...

In addition to military forces, AP reports China and Russia have dispatched intelligence-gathering vessels from their navies to chase the USS Carl Vinson nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which is heading toward waters near the Korean Peninsula, multiple sources of the Japanese government revealed to The Yomiuri Shimbun.

It appears that both countries aim to probe the movements of the United States, which is showing a stance of not excluding military action against North Korea. The Self-Defense Forces are strengthening warning and surveillance activities in the waters and airspace around the area, according to the sources.

The aircraft carrier strike group, composed of the Carl Vinson at its core with guided-missile destroyers and other vessels, is understood to be around the East China Sea and heading north toward waters near the Korean Peninsula.

The dispatch of the intelligence-gathering vessels appears to be partly aimed at sending a warning signal to the United States.

Yonhap reports that the USS Carl Vinson is expected to reach South Korea's east coast by April 25th.

Source: Zero Hedge

 

[T-Rex]

What will be the Russian response to a US strike inside NK? It's not clear yet. Will China remain neutral or assist NK or will it assist the US?

 

[The SC]

China and Russia have launched ships to collect intelligence about the USS Carl Vinson, a US-based carrier that has headed for the Korean Peninsula, the Associated Press reported.

The agency quoted Japanese government officials as saying that warships were gathering information on arming the US aircraft carrier and tracking its movements alongside other US ships in the area.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and a group of other US warships were approaching the territorial waters of the South China Sea heading north toward the Korean peninsula amid geopolitical tensions following Pyongyang's missile tests.

http://stg.dotemirates.com/ar/details/3304236?from=dot

 

[patero]

Didn't the Carl Vinson turn away and go away from the Korean peninsula? Those Chinese and Russian ships are going to be chasing dolphins.

 

[Akasa]

Didn't the Carl Vinson turn away and go away from the Korean peninsula? Those Chinese and Russian ships are going to be chasing dolphins.

Carl Vinson was never in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula in the first place - instead, she was engaged in exercises off Australian waters. This leads to the conclusion that either this report is fake or the Russians & Chinese are severely deficient in OTH radar tracking capabilities.

 

[TaiShang]

The Center of Economic Power Is Shifting Eastward — And the West Is in Total Denial

The West stews in self-denial as China and Russia move forward with the New Silk Road.

Matthew Allen


The New Silk Road is happening — with or without Washington's approval

Nearly 30 heads of state and government leaders, including Putin, have confirmed they will attend the Belt and Road summit in Beijing on May 14-15.

China's "One Belt, One Road" plan will revive an ancient trading route stretching from Asia to Europe. Beijing and Moscow have also indicated they have reached consensus on integrating China’s plan with Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union.

This is an economic game-changer, so you would think that Europe would be eager to get in on the action. Not quite.

Only one G7 leader, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, will be present for the round table summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, the Spanish, Greek, Hungarian, Serb and Polish prime ministers and Swiss and Czech presidents will attend the May summit.

France and Germany have upcoming elections, so they have opted to send high-level representatives instead. But in general, Europe hasn't shown a lot of love for China's New Silk Road.

Which is puzzling, because China is not trying to exclude the West from its economic and infrastructure plans for Eurasia. On the contrary, Beijing sees the initiative as a way to make the world more interconnected.

That's obvious unacceptable to the "civilized" West. As Reuters hilariously reports:

Diplomatic sources said the presence of Putin and other leaders from countries with dubious human rights records, like the Philippines and Central Asian states, had contributed to a reluctance among Western leaders to attend.

"What Western leader wants to sit on the same stage as Putin?" said one senior Beijing-based Western diplomat who is familiar with the planning for the summit, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Take a moment and reflect on how amazing and absurd that statement is.

We're genuinely curious: Is the West going to continue to bury its head in the sand, or face the reality that the new center of economic power is shifting eastward? China has invited everyone to the table, but apparently Washington and many of its European partners are stubbornly clinging to their rapidly fading economic "supremacy".

Change is coming, and Moscow and Beijing are making the proper preparations. Maybe it's time for Europe to face reality?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave a landmark speech last month in which he noted that new centers of economic power will bring an end to Washington's unipolar world order:

The redistribution of the global balance of power continues. We are witnessing new centers of economic power and associated political influence come into being in the world...The formation of a polycentric international order is an objective process. It is in our common interest to make it more stable and predictable.

And China's New Silk Road is an integral part of this process of creating a polycentric economic and international order.

As one of RI's cherished commenters pointed out not long ago:

In the year 2000, the US an its satellite states (G7) accounted for 44% of global GDP. The BRICS together accounted for a mere 18%.

Fast forward to 2015, and the BRICS have now achieved - PARITY! 31%-31% -a blink of an eye in historical terms.

Fast forward to 2030, and the BRICS are projected to account for double the GDP of the G7 including the US.

And the US wants to keep dictating policy to the world? On what basis, pray tell? The biggest military? Blink your eyes again, and that too shall pass.

US policymakers are living in the world of 2000, when Russia was on its knees, China was a mere fraction of the US economy, and India was a non-entity. But that world is gone. The world won't tolerate a US-imposed order much longer.

But Europe can't participate in the Beijing summit — because Putin will be there! You almost feel bad for them. Almost.

We are often reminded of what Marine Le Pen told Anderson Cooper during a delightful 60 Minutes interview:

Cooper: You don’t believe Russia is a threat to Europe?

Le Pen: I don’t believe that at all. I think that’s a big scam.

Cooper: The invasion of Ukraine…

Le Pen: I’ll tell you what the danger is for Europe. It’s carrying out a Cold War against Russia, and pushing Russia into China’s arms. THAT'S the threat to Europe.

The strategic geniuses in Washington and Europe's capitals have brought this upon themselves: Years of demonizing and saber-rattling have finally caught up with them. Sitting down with China and Russia and finding common ground is no longer politically feasible. After all — what would CNN say?

Instead, the West stews in self-denial and self-isolation.

Most major Western leaders to skip China's New Silk Road summit https://t.co/syWphbAeR9
— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz)
April 18, 2017

In the short-term, their self-righteousness might look noble to vegetable television pundits. In ten years the western world will look back on this moment with shame and frustration.

@BRICSFTW , @vostok , @Chinese-Dragon , @Dungeness , @grey boy 2

 

[Nan Yang]

China and Russia have launched ships to collect intelligence about the USS Carl Vinson

But they did not find any.

 

[TaiShang]

McMaster Is Deluded, Trump Hasn't Divided China and Russia

The inexperienced Trump admin is giving itself too much credit. Russia-China ties are on a completely different level from US-Chinese contacts

M.K. Bhadrakumar
10 hours ago | 2066 Comments


You can just feel the 'chemistry' (arsenic)

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced earlier today that the Director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China Li Zhanshu will visit Russia on April 25-27 at the invitation of his counterpart, head of the Presidential Administration in the Kremlin Anton Vaino. The Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in Beijing that the two officials will discuss China-Russia relations “as previously agreed on by the countries’ leaders” and that the Chinese side is confident that the visit will further galvanize Sino-Russian ties. (TASS)

Li will be the second top Chinese official visiting Moscow in April. President Vladimir Putin has received the First Vice-Premier of China Zhang Gaoli (who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of Chinese Communist Party) at the Kremlin on April 13, which was, incidentally, the day after the visit by the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Moscow.

Zhang is one of the economic czars in the Chinese system and his talks with Russian officials focused on Chinese investments in Russia and energy cooperation. But part of his brief was to prepare for Putin’s “working visit” to Beijing in the context of the One Belt One Road summit on May 14-15, which will be inaugurated by President Xi Jinping.

Li’s forthcoming talks in the Kremlin will be of exceptional importance. It is only with Russia that Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s apex organ (which comes directly under party General Secretary Xi) has such an institutional arrangement of annual consultations – although Russia is not a communist country.

Li is a key aide to Xi and his counterpart Vaino reports directly to Putin. The symbolism is at once evident. At an operative level, the unique arrangement ensures that the dynamics and verve of the China-Russia relationship unfailingly receives the personal attention of Xi and Putin. In sum, it underscores that the two countries attribute the highest priority to their relationship.

The timing of Li’s visit is particularly significant. The Donald Trump administration has been bragging openly last week that a special chemistry has developed between the US president and Xi following their meeting in Florida on April 7-8 and that China is now actively helping the US to handle the North Korea problem.

Besides, both Trump and his National Security Advisor HR McMaster have openly boasted that China’s abstention in the UN Security Council vote on Syria last Wednesday was due to this wonderful personal chemistry between the two presidents.

Incredibly enough, McMaster virtually went on to boast in a TV interview with ABC on Sunday that Trump has succeeded in creating distance between China and Russia over the Syrian question. McMaster claimed that Russia has been badly isolated in the UN Security Council. (It is a nonsensical claim, as is apparent from the BRICS Joint Communique of April 12 adopted at Visakhapatnam on Syria, which virtually backs the Russian position.)

Conceivably, McMaster is a novice in international diplomacy and his inexperience showed in the ABC interview. But then, he happens to be Trump’s NSA and even if he is a bumbling Lt. General who is a babe in the words in the world of politics, his voice carries authority. McMaster said:

“What we do know is that, in the midst of responding to the mass murder of the Syrian regime, the president (Trump) and the first lady hosted an extraordinarily successful conference, summit, with President Xi and his team. And not only did they establish a very warm relationship, but… they worked together as well in connection with the response to the mass murder on the part of the Assad regime in connection with the U.N. vote.

I think President Xi was courageous in distancing himself from the Russians, isolating really the Russians and the Bolivians… And I think the world saw that, and they (Xi) saw, well, what club do you want to be in? The Russian-Bolivian club? Or the — in the club with the United States, working together on our mutual interests and the interests of peace, security.”

McMaster probably thought, out of sheer naivety, that with these harsh words, he’d deal a knockout punch at the Russians. No matter Trump’s game plan to drive a wedge between China and Russia by exploiting Xi’s interest in a ‘new type of major country relations’ with US, it is preposterous that Beijing will allow any erosion to the Sino-Russian entente.

The point is, for both China and Russia, their number one priority in world politics will be to push back at US hegemony and here is no daylight possible between them for a foreseeable future. Simply put, the relationship has created ‘strategic depth’ for both countries to safeguard their core interests, while also navigating specific concerns at any given point vis-a-vis the United States.

We will never know whether Li’s is a routine visit or has been conceived against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s mischief to create misunderstandings in the Russian-Chinese ties. At any rate, Beijing seems to be going the extra league to underscore the highest priority that it attaches to the preservation of China’s mutual trust with Russia.

Li’s trip to Moscow and his consultations at the Kremlin can only make Trump and McMaster look somewhat like two country bumpkins who lost their way in the metropolis.

 

[TaiShang]

Why Washington is Terrified of Russia, China
© AFP 2017/ HOW HWEE YOUNG

19:54 21.04.2017(updated 19:58 21.04.2017)
Pepe Escobar

The Russia-China strategic partnership, uniting the Pentagon's avowed top two "existential" threats to America, does not come with a formal treaty signed with pomp, circumstance - and a military parade.

© AP PHOTO/ ALEX BRANDON

Enveloped in layers of subtle sophistication, there's no way to know the deeper terms Beijing and Moscow have agreed upon behind those innumerable Putin-Xi Jinping high-level meetings.

Diplomats, off the record, occasionally let it slip there may have been a coded message delivered to NATO to the effect that if one of the strategic members is seriously harassed — be it in Ukraine or in the South China Sea – NATO will have to deal with both.

For now, let's concentrate on two instances of how the partnership works in practice, and why Washington is clueless on how to deal with it.

Exhibit A is the imminent visit to Moscow by the Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Li Zhanshu, invited by the head of the Presidential Administration in the Kremlin, Anton Vaino. Beijing stressed the talks will revolve around – what else — the Russia-China strategic partnership, "as previously agreed on by the countries' leaders."

© SPUTNIK/ ANTON DENISOV

China Ready to Promote Political Settlement in Hot Spots With Russia - Foreign Minister

This happens just after China's First Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, one of the top seven in the Politburo and one of the drivers of China's economic policies, was received in Moscow by President Putin. They discussed Chinese investments in Russia and the key energy angle of the partnership.

But most of all they prepared Putin's next visit to Beijing, which will be particularly momentous, in the cadre of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) summit on May 14-15, steered by Xi Jinping.

The General Office of the CCP – directly subordinated to Xi — only holds this kind of ultra-high-level annual consultations with Moscow, and no other player. Needless to add, Li Zhanshu reports directly to Xi as much as Vaino reports directly to Putin. That is as highly strategic as it gets.

That also happens to tie directly to one of the latest episodes featuring The Hollow (Trump) Men, in this case Trump's bumbling/bombastic National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. HR McMaster.

In a nutshell, McMaster's spin, jolly regurgitated by US corporate media, is that Trump has developed such a "special chemistry" with Xi after their Tomahawks-with-chocolate cake summit in Mar-a-Lago that Trump has managed to split the Russia-China entente on Syria and isolate Russia in the UN Security Council.

It would have taken only a few minutes for McMaster to read the BRICS joint communiqué on Syria for him to learn that the BRICS are behind Russia.

No wonder a vastly experienced Indian geopolitical observer felt compelled to note that, "Trump and McMaster look somewhat like two country bumpkins who lost their way in the metropolis."

Follow the money

Exhibit B centers on Russia and China quietly advancing their agreement to progressively replace the US dollar's reserve status with a gold-backed system.

That also involves the key participation of Kazakhstan – very much interested in using gold as currency along OBOR. Kazakhstan could not be more strategically positioned; a key hub of OBOR; a key member of the Eurasia Economic Union (EEU); member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); and not by accident the smelter of most of Russia's gold.

In parallel, Russia and China are advancing their own payment systems. With the yuan now enjoying the status of a global currency, China has been swiftly promoting their payment system, CIPS, careful not to frontally antagonize the internationally accepted SWIFT, controlled by the US.

Russia, on the other hand, has stressed the creation of "an alternative," in the words of Russian Central Bank's Elvira Nabiullina, in the form of the Mir payment system — a Russian version of Visa/ MasterCard. What's implied is that were Washington feel inclined to somehow exclude Russia from SWIFT, even temporarily, at least 90 percent of ATMs in Russia would be able to operate on Mir.

China's UnionPay cards are already an established fixture all across Asia – enthusiastically adopted by HSBC, among others. Combine "alternative" payment systems with a developing gold-backed system – and "toxic" does not even begin to spell out the reaction of the US Federal Reserve.

And it's not just about Russia and China; it's about the BRICS.

What First Deputy Governor of Russia's Central Bank Sergey Shvetsov has outlined is just the beginning: "BRICS countries are large economies with large reserves of gold and an impressive volume of production and consumption of this precious metal. In China, the gold trade is conducted in Shanghai, in Russia it is in Moscow. Our idea is to create a link between the two cities in order to increase trade between the two markets."

Russia and China already have established systems to do global trade bypassing the US dollar. What Washington did to Iran — cutting their banks off SWIFT – is now unthinkable against Russia and China.

So we're already on our way, slowly but surely, towards a BRICS "gold marketplace." A "new financial architecture" is being built. That will imply the eventual inability of the US Fed to export inflation to other nations – especially those included in BRICS, EEU and SCO.

The Hollow Men

Trump's Generals, led by "Mad Dog" Mattis, may spin all they want about their need to dominate the planet with their sophisticated AirSeaLandSpaceCyber commands. Yet that may be not enough to counter the myriad ways the Russia-China strategic partnership is developing.

So more on than off, we will have Hollow Men like Vice-President Mike Pence, with empurpled solemnity, threatening North Korea; “The shield stands guard and the sword stands ready.” Forget this does not even qualify as a lousy line in a cheap remake of a Hollywood B-movie; what we have here is Aspiring Commander-in-Chief Pence warning Russia and China there may be some nuclear nitty-gritty very close to their borders between the US and North Korea.

Not gonna happen. So here's to the great T. S. Eliot, who saw it all decades in advance: "We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men/ Leaning together
 / Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! / Our dried voices, when
 / We whisper together 
/ Are quiet and meaningless
 / As wind in dry grass / 
Or rats' feet over broken glass / 
In our dry cellar."