The Great Game Changer: Belt and Road Intiative (BRI; OBOR)

[sicsheep]

BEIJING, November 18. /TASS/. Defense ministries of Russia and China seek to form a regional collective security system in the Asia-Pacific region, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday after talks with his Chinese counterpart Colonel General Chang Wanquan in Beijing.


According to the Russian defense minister, Russia and China are concerned over US attempts to strengthen its military and political clout in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR).

“During talks with Comrade Chang Wanquan, we discussed the state and prospects of the Russian-Chinese relations in the military field, exchanged opinions on the military-political situation in general and the APR in particular,” Shoigu said.

“We also expressed concern over US attempts to strengthen its military and political clout in the APR,” he said. “We believe that the main goal of pooling our effort is to shape a collective regional security system.”

Russia, China to hold joint naval drills in Pacific, Mediterranean in 2015
Sergey Shoigu announced that Russia and China will hold joint naval drills in the Pacific and in the Mediterranean in 2015.

“We plan to conduct a regular joint naval exercise in the Mediterranean next spring. Another joint naval drill is planned in the Pacific,” he said.


Touching upon his talks with Chang Wanquan, Shoigu said the sides expressed satisfaction that the spectrum of joint activities in the defense sphere “has visibly expanded and gained a systemic character.” In May, Russia and China conducted third Joint Sea naval exercises, he noted.

In 2014, China’s teams took part in the tank biathlon world championship and international pilot competition Aviadrafts that were held in Russia. “Chinese servicemen demonstrated the high competitive spirit and skills,” the Russian defense minister said, adding that such events were “a good format for exchange of experience.”

“We have vast potential of cooperation in the defense sphere, and the Russian side is ready to develop it is a wide range of areas,” he added.

Strengthening ties with China is Russia's top priority
Shoigu said strengthening and expanding ties with China remains Russia’s overriding priority.

“Amid a highly volatile world situation, it becomes particularly important to strengthen reliable good-neighbourly relations between our countries,” Shoigu said at talks with his Chinese counterpart General Chang Wanquan.

“This is not only an important factor for security of states but also a contribution to peace and stability on the Eurasian continent and beyond,” he said, adding that “regular private meetings between the leaders of Russia and China give a powerful impetus to development of bilateral partnership”.

The minister noted that next year marks the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in WWII. “The peoples of our countries took heavy casualties in it,” Shoigu said. “Russia’s and China’s solidarity is of principal importance amid attempts to falsify history and glorify fascism.”

A wide range of events is being planned to celebrate this date, both bilaterally and with counterparts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security grouping comprising Russia, China and the Central Asian former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Shoigu said.

Russia and China also started to regularly hold joint naval and anti-terrorism drills, the minister said, adding that the countries’ military forces “showed a high level of cooperation” during an operation to escort vessels carrying Syria's chemical weapons. Much work was also done during this year’s joint Naval Interaction exercises in the East China Sea, he said.

Shoigu stressed that the two countries maintain high level of military and technical cooperation, noting that issues of that cooperation were “under constant review by our heads of state”.

Russia, China seek to form Asia-Pacific collective security system

 

[TaiShang]

Does America realize the consequences of forcing Russia into China’s arms? — RT Op-Edge

In Ukraine, the US is cutting off its nose to spite its face, as it transforms a regional struggle over “spheres of influence” into a global one. Unless the runaway train is swiftly derailed, the world faces a 21st century standoff between east and west.

In 867AD, Æbbe the Younger, Mother Superior of the convent at Coldingham in Scotland cut off her nose and upper lip and urged her fellow nuns to also disfigure themselves. It wasn’t for sacrificial reasons; it was because Viking raiders had landed nearby and the Abbess feared they would rape the community and deprive them of their chastity. By destroying their appearance, Mother Æbbe, correctly, guessed the Nordic marauders would show no interest. She was right - the Vikings were so disgusted that they burned the entire convent to the ground.

From this event was born the phrase “cutting off the nose to spite the face.” Although the original circumstances were slightly different, the term is a warning against pursuing revenge in a way that would damage the instigator more than the object of the anger. The USA is doing precisely this in its current attitude to Russia. By “punishing” Russia for resisting Western attempts to “grab” Ukraine, it is laying the foundations for a far more serious estrangement.

A feud that began when President Putin stymied the hopes of elements in Washington to wage war with Syria now has the potential to reshape the entire world. You all know the story by now, neocon factions in the State Department took revenge against Putin's perceived stubbornness by ratcheting up tensions in Ukraine, leading to a violent revolution and civil war. The Crimean people voted to rejoin Russia and Washington, in tandem with the EU, imposed sanctions on Moscow.

Except they weren’t the kind of sanctions designed to damage Russia’s ability to defend itself. Instead, they were clearly aimed at regime change by targeting close supporters of the Russian President. Subsequently, the short-sighted sanctions led to unprecedented approval ratings for Putin as the Russian people rallied around their leader. In their eyes, an attack on their President was an attack on the nation. What the State Department meddlers didn't countenance is that Russians, with high levels of education, are too savvy to be hoodwinked by playground tactics.

Since then, bilateral relations between the White House and the Kremlin have reached their lowest point since the Russian Federation was founded in 1991. This has happened only 4 years after Putin advocated a free trade agreement between the EU and Russia. “A harmonious economic community stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok,” as he wrote in Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung at the time.

In 48 months we have gone from a prospective giant Western alliance, with Russia at its centre, to a situation where Russia is now ready to possibly join an Eastern alliance led, to all intents and purposes, by China. We know neocons aren’t the brightest lights in the firmament but are they really this stupid?

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping (RIA Novosti)

If you didn’t know the personalities involved and were asked to suggest the obvious alignment of the world, you’d probably say that Russia’s place was in the European camp. It shares a Christian faith with the rest of the continent and has always been at least a “slightly” European power - much like the United Kingdom.

In truth, Russia has little in common with Asian cultures, aside from geography. Even in the far eastern outpost of Vladivostok (which is on the far side of China), an Italian is far more likely to blend in than a Malaysian. This is not related to appearance - there are many ethnic east-Asians in the region, who regard themselves as thoroughly Russian and, by virtue, European. Indeed there are millions of people east of the Urals who have actually never set foot in what is generally considered to be Europe, but describe themselves as being Europeans. It’s a state of mind but, then again, Europe has always been as much an idea as a place.

For years commentators have speculated: “imagine Russia’s resources and military power with Western Europe’s technology and fiscal heft?” It would, of course, be the single most powerful economic and martial bloc in the world. Not only that, but such a rapprochement makes complete sense and has done since 1991.

However, it is Washington’s worst nightmare. An EU-Russia alliance and partial union would erode America’s influence in Europe. Hence, to knock it on head, just as it seemed Germany was warming to the notion, the US has managed to drive a massive wedge between Moscow and its natural allies in Europe.

Before they clap themselves on the back too loudly, the Americans might want to pause for a second. In pursuing this haphazard course, they’ve managed to send Russia hurtling into China’s warm embrace.

Thus, cutting off their nose to spite their face. Instead of allowing a tri-polar world, the US in control of the Americas, China in Asia, and a giant Eurasian alliance as a buffer - Washington has managed to create a much more confrontational bi-polar world. In the blue corner, the USA and a castrated, divided Europe which is being pulled in all kinds of directions and in the red corner, a resurgent China and a Russia that, most likely, would prefer to be in a different corner altogether, or none,

This is the way the US State Department wishes the world to be - in a constant state of chaos. Now, instead of a US-EU-Russia detente, they have managed to manufacture a new Cold War for the 21st century with Ukraine as the new Berlin.

A Chinese Type 86A IFV seen during the final rehearsal of the joint Russia-China anti-terror exercise Peace Mission (RIA Novosti)

With Russia alienated by the West and China eager to buy high-end weaponry, a joint military pact seems the likely outcome. Concurrently, the previously zombie-like NATO has awoken like a pensioner who was discovered house music and fancies a last youthful dance.

If a Moscow-Beijing military alliance does take shape, such a bloc would dominate the Eurasian landmass, with naval bases all the way from the Baltic, via the Arctic and Pacific, to the South China Sea. A union between Russia's advanced weaponry and China's huge population and industrial muscle would eventually prove a match for NATO, thereby giving the US an excuse to ratchet up military spending. If Europe attempted to follow suit, it would likely deepen its economic malaise. The main point is that the whole notion is such an incredibly wasteful use of finite global resources.

The confrontation between Russia and the West is a gift that keeps on giving for China. Just as the self-destruction of the Euro-centric world a century ago allowed the building a new US-centric system, the weakening of the US will probably result in China becoming the world’s leading power. Europe’s last chance to stake its own claim, has evaporated into thin air thanks to a bone-headed, subservient (to Washington) strategy in eastern part of the continent. Europe’s inability to separate the European Union from the archaic NATO has been its undoing.

Four years after Putin proposed a Russian-EU alliance from “Lisbon to Vladivostok,” we instead have an embryonic new Cold War. It’s not too late to halt the wagons but time is limited. The next US administration, if it’s sufficiently blessed to be shorn of neocons, must decide which is more important to it: to antagonize Russia in the eastern borderlands, losing its world hegemony in the process, or to find a way of resolving friction with Moscow, thus halting the process of China’s accession to the role of global superpower.

 

[AgentOrange]

We should export our communist political system to Russia. I think Russia is a suitable country to adopt our communist system.

Yeah, in 2014 China's all about exporting revolution. Especially authoritarian state capitalism under the guise of communism first exported to China from Russia. I guess this would be the ultimate Chinese "knockoff" being sold back to the originator at firesale prices?

Idiotic statements from Chinese people do more damage to China's image than any slander piece published in the West.

 

[TaiShang]

Yeah, in 2014 China's all about exporting revolution. Especially authoritarian state capitalism under the guise of communism first exported to China from Russia. I guess this would be the ultimate Chinese "knockoff" being sold back to the originator at firesale prices?

Idiotic statements from Chinese people do more damage to China's image than any slander piece published in the West.

I guess he was only being sarcastic.

 

[AgentOrange]

I guess he was only being sarcastic.

I really, really hope so. And if BuddhaBro was being sarcastic, then I apologize. If he wasn't and he actually meant what he said, then on behalf of other Chinese people everywhere ...

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

We don't export ideology.

Some people are upset at growing China-Russia relations I guess.

Idiotic statements from Chinese people do more damage to China's image than any slander piece published in the West.

We should export our communist political system to Russia. I think Russia is a suitable country to adopt our communist system.

@BuddhaPalm may be a false flag.

Every post he makes is an attempt to ruin China's image.

@Horus

 

[TaiShang]

I really, really hope so. And if BuddhaBro was being sarcastic, then I apologize. If he wasn't and he actually meant what he said, then on behalf of other Chinese people everywhere ...

I agree and hope he was just being sarcastic. China is 100% uninterested in preaching others what is best for them.

Let exporting ideology remain a Western business. China better continue to export high-end tangibles, and receive development, power, and prestige, in return.

 

[TaiShang]

China to push strategic partnership with Russia: Foreign Ministry
December 5, 2014

File photo of Putin (right) presenting the Russian delegation to President of China Xi Jinping in March 2013 [PPIO]

A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state of the nation address, China said it will pursue closer ties with Moscow.

“China is determined to keep building up the strategic partnership with Russia,” said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday in Beijing.

“We respect the road taken by the Russian nation, including its domestic and foreign policies. We watched the Russian president’s statement with great interest. The level of trust and cooperation between our countries is very high,” Hua Chunying was quoted by Russian agency Tass.

In a televised address to the nation, Putin said on Thursday, some governments are attempting “to create a new iron curtain around Russia”.

The Russian President hit out at the US alleging Washington “always influences Russia’s relations with neighbors, directly or indirectly”, even as the Ukraine crisis is straining ties between many EU capitals and Moscow.

Earlier last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged Washington is seeking to achieve a regime change in Russia and is instigating Moscow’s closest allies to join in the punitive sanctions.

“We have a million confirmations that all over the world American ambassadors, envoys are insisting on top-level meeting to say – you should be punishing Russia jointly with us. This is done in all countries, no exceptions, including our closest allies,” Lavrov said.

In measures to offset the impact of sanctions to the Russian economy, Putin on Thursday promised an amnesty for capital repatriated to the country and a national wealth fund to support domestic banks.

The Russian economy is bearing the brunt of Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov earlier last week in Moscow.

“We are losing around $40 billion in a year because of sanctions and another $90 to $100 billion because of a 30-percent drop in oil prices,” Siluanov said.

At the Kremlin’s St George Hall, addressing an audience of more than 1,000 people, Putin on Thursday said the US is trying to undermine the Russian economy and that Western sanctions would have been imposed regardless of Crimea and Ukraine.

Moscow is consciously making a concerted attempt in reducing dollar dependence for Russian trade, including making greater use of settlements in ruble and yuan in its trade with China.

“We’re moving away from the diktat of the market that denominates all commercial oil flows in US dollars. We’re encouraging in every way the use of national currencies – both the ruble and the yuan,” Putin said last month.

 

[TaiShang]

Post Chechnya attack, China, Russia eye anti-terror cooperation | The BRICS Post

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday sent a letter of condolence to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov over Thursday’s terrorist attack in Russia’s southwestern Chechnya republic, which killed 25 people.

Wang strongly condemned the attack, stating that China opposes terrorism of all forms.

“China firmly supports Russia’s efforts to fight terrorism, and is willing to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation with Russia, so as to safeguard each other’s national peace, tranquility and stability, and ensure the safety of life and property of the two peoples,” said the Chinese minister.

China’s government is also fighting a surge of violence over the past year on militants from Xinjiang who China says are fighting for an independent state called East Turkestan.

More than 200 people have died in unrest in China’s Xinjiang in the past year or so, the government says.

Meanwhile, Russia’s National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAK) said on Thursday 10 policemen lost their lives and 28 were injured in clashes with the attackers.

Russia has battled separatist wars in Chechnya in 1994-96 and 1999-2000.

In an annual state of the nation address on Thursday, Putin said the West’s age-old “policy of containment” against Russia also includes supporting terrorism on its soil.

“Talking to Russia from a position of force is an exercise in futility, even when it was faced with domestic hardships, as in the 1990ies and early 2000ies. We remember well how and who, almost openly, supported separatism back then and even outright terrorism in Russia, referred to murderers, whose hands were stained with blood, none other than rebels and organised high-level receptions for them. These “rebels” showed up in Chechnya again,” said Putin.

 

[DeVice]

Everyone know who is funding and planning the terrorism.

U, S and A.

 

[TaiShang]

Everyone know who is funding and planning the terrorism.

U, S and A.

China needs continue to stand by Russia at the time of greater need.

 

[Beast]

China needs continue to stand by Russia at the time of greater need.

Beware of sabotage. Many countries are desperate to sow discord and separate the alliance.

 

[TaiShang]

Beware of sabotage. Many countries are desperate to sow discord and separate the alliance.

Hopefully, the political intelligence of the two countries are above those perpetrators.

The West is really pushing Russia to the corner. The Chechnian terrorism started out of blue. Anticipate US-Saudi support to weaken and destabilize Russia. If it comes to that, the SCO would have to conduct a huge anti-terrorism drill in the region.

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming three-nation tour in Asia and Europe will not only help further China's relations with the host countries, but also be of great significance to regional and sub-regional cooperation, experts say.

During the seven-day trip which starts on Sunday, Li will pay an official visit to Kazakhstan and attend the 13th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

He will also attend the third leaders' meeting of China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and pay an official visit to Serbia.

In Thailand, the final leg of his tour, Li will attend the fifth summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation.

Fresh momentum for SCO cooperation

Li's visit to Kazakhstan will be his first since he took office in 2013, as well as the first visit by a Chinese premier to the country since 2008.

Sheng Shiliang, executive director of the Center of SCO Studies, said China-Kazakhstan relations have maintained a good momentum of development, with remarkable achievements in cooperation in such fields as security, inter-connectivity, trade and economy.

During his stay in the Central Asian nation, Li will also attend the second regular meeting between the China-Kazakhstan heads of government.

In Kazakhstan, Li is expected to address an event held by the entrepreneurs' committee of the two countries, and witness the signing of about 30 cooperation documents valued at over 10 billion U.S. dollars.

Li's visit embodies great importance attached by China to its amity with Kazakhstan, Sheng said, adding that the signing of big business deals will inject fresh vitality into Kazakhstan's economic development.

Besides, the Chinese premier's attendance at the SCO prime ministers' meeting will broaden cooperation within the regional organization in such areas as security, economy, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

In the context of the prolonged Ukraine crisis, the threat of "three civil forces" of separatism, extremism and terrorism, and the slowdown of some member states' economic growth, high expectations have been placed on the SCO and great importance attached to China's role in dealing with those issues.

At the meeting, Li is expected to expound on China's proposal in safeguarding stability, developing economy, and improving the people's livelihood, and put forward a series of initiatives in bolstering the organization's development, so as to implement the consensus reached at the September SCO summit and inject new momentum into the development of regional cooperation.

New driving force for China-Europe ties

When attending the China-CEE meeting in Serbia, Li will discuss major plans for cooperation with leaders of 16 Central and Eastern European nations.

Kong Tianping, a research fellow on Europe studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said the 16+1 meeting mechanism, as a new platform for China-CEE cooperation launched in 2012, will enormously increase the two sides' political will for bilateral cooperation.

Last year, Li attended the second leaders' meeting of China and CEE countries in the Romanian capital of Bucharest and the two sides sketched out 38 cooperation projects, 80 percent of which have been put into practice.

China and the CEE countries have already made great progress in some big cooperation projects, as Chinese enterprises' cooperation with Serbia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other countries in the region have yielded fruitful results in the area of infrastructure construction.

The two sides have also set up a platform for cooperation in the fields of education and culture.

"It is noteworthy that among the 16 CEE countries, 11 have joined the European Union (EU) and the other five have also set a target for the membership in the bloc," Kong said.

"China-CEE cooperation is an important element of China-EU relations, whose in-depth development will not only become a 'new driving force' for the two sides' cooperation, but also be conducive to the balanced development of bilateral ties," he added.

Serbia, the host country of the meeting, has enjoyed a profound traditional friendship with China and plays a decisive role in China-CEE relations.

In 2009, it became the first CEE country to establish a strategic partnership with China.

Li's visit to Serbia is of positive significance to consolidating and developing bilateral relations, Kong noted.

New devekopment for sub-regional cooperation

The GMS, initiated by the Asian Development Bank in 1992, is composed of six member nations in the Mekong River Basin -- China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Jin Canrong, associate dean of Renmin University's School of International Relations, said the GMS cooperation has made considerable headway after China's participation, adding that China's development has made the cooperation project come true.

Li's attendance at the GMS meeting will politically boost the development of this mechanism and promote mutual political trust with some Southeastern Asian nations, so as to dispel misgivings and strengthen their political will to interact with each other, he said.

The GMS serves not only as an important element for China's foreign policy toward its neighbors, but also a complement to the country's cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

As countries in the subregion are also landlocked members of ASEAN, most of whom are less developed nations within the bloc, China's cooperation with them will help ASEAN realize balanced development.

Xu Liping, a research fellow of the Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy with CASS, said China has made great contribution to the sub-regional cooperation in financial assistance, poverty reduction, agricultural technology and non-traditional security.

He added that Li's attendance at the meeting will undoubtedly play a positive role in pushing forward cooperation in the subregion.

The Chinese premier's proposals at a series of leaders' meeting on East Asia cooperation last month, including inter-connectivity and an upgraded free trade area, also relate to cooperation in the GMS, he said.

Therefore, Li is likely to detail those proposals at the upcoming GMS summit and put forward some new proposals, which will "not only focus on economic development, but also reinforce security cooperation, in a bid to realize a 'dual-wheel driving force' for both political security and economic development," Xu noted.

Li's Eurasia tour to unleash potential for cooperation - China.org.cn

 

[TaiShang]

China needs clear strategy to help Russia
Source:Global Times Published: 2014-12-17

With oil prices sinking and the ruble falling in value, Russia is experiencing the gravest economic crisis since the turn of the century. After its value crashed for two days running, the ruble has depreciated over 50 percent against the US dollar so far this year to become the worst performing global currency. At present, there seems to be no way to bail it out, and what will happen to the Russian economy is difficult to predict.

Some analysts are comparing Russia's current situation with the eve of the Soviet Union's dissolution, when oil prices were also at a low ebb. Some speculate that the deepening economic crisis will impose new challenges to Russian President Vladimir Putin's tenure, forcing him to apply a defensive strategy. But there are also some concerns about him becoming more aggressive.

This speculation raises a question: Is Russia's economy worse now than the time when the Soviet Union collapsed?

Compared with 23 years ago, Russia's manufacturing capacity and agricultural production have not greatly improved, and it's much diminished strength has not left much room to maneuver. What's more, Moscow now faces Western sanctions and there is deep antagonism between Moscow and Washington.

But Russian society is much more united than before. Putin retains high approval ratings among the Russian public, who learned heavy lessons after the collapse and harbor no delusions toward the West.

Russia's foreign exchange reserves still boast about $400 billion, which means, unlike immediately following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the well-being of the Russian people will not be severely impacted in the short term. Although the threat of collapse is still far away, Russia will go through a long-running winter instead of a temporary storm.

China has become a significant factor that determines Russia's strategic environment. Seeking China's support is one of Russia's most realistic options.

While it might play a key role, China has to keep a clear mind when giving a helping hand to Russia. China-Russia cooperation is no longer ideology-based but driven by common interests. Although it has the capability to offer help to Russia at critical moments, China does not have to act in a proactive manner.

Any facilitation and aid must be given with the request of Moscow through the normal channels of country-to-country exchanges. This will reduce Moscow's misunderstandings to the minimum.

This crisis will probably urge Russia to recalibrate some of its national strategies. But it is by no means a fact that Russia will draw closer to China because of this. With many uncertainties, China also faces challenges about how to lead its relationship with Russia to a reciprocal end.

Russia is at a crossroads, and the direction it chooses will impact world politics. China's stance is clear, and it does not want Russia to collapse.

***

What realistic options does China have to assist Russia in one of its deepest economic crises that is the result of a geopolitical stand-off with the West (US)?

@Chinese-Dragon , @Nihonjin1051 , @Keel , @tranquilium , @Edison Chen , @Raphael , @xunzi , @cirr , @ChineseTiger1986 , @terranMarine @yusheng , @Ruisheng , @wanglaokan , @JSCh at al.