Xi's visit to Russia to catapult Sino-Russian relations to a new high

By Shafei Moiz Hali

According to the economic rankings provided by the IMF based upon GDP measured in terms of PPP, China and Russia are both among the top 6 countries in the world. When the people from the highest echelons of leadership of such strong and big economies get in to a habit of meeting frequently and regularly it can only point towards one fact, that a strengthening bond between two strong countries will yield great economic benefits not just for their respective countries but will also breathe new life into the global economy which is otherwise crawling towards recovery. Presently upon the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Xi Jinping has set course for Russia on an official state visit. This will be the third meeting between the two heads of states in merely a span of two months, following the meetings on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing and the Astana summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Overall this visit is Xi's sixth to Russia since taking office in 2013 and will also be the 21st time to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is because of this strengthening bond between the two countries that the international media is a buzz and all eyes are on the leadership of the two major countries in the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, meet in Astana on June 8, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

Russia and China are not merely two large economies of the world, but are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, which gives credence towards the fact that, a strengthening partnership between two strong nations means that their efforts will be streamlined, compounded and channeled together for resolving global issues. In this regards the Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui said, “This visit is of great significance," especially at a time when global economic recovery is still sluggish and international situation is complex and volatile.” The Chinese ambassador also highlighted the joint efforts made by the two countries, “China and Russia have strengthened strategic cooperation and have played their due role as major countries, and they have been jointly pushing for a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and the Syrian issue.”

In the recent past the bilateral relations between Russia and China have been improving and strengthening tremendously. China has been Russia's largest trading partner for six years and Russia has been a major source for China to import energy and technology. Each visit or meeting between the top leadership of the two countries brings the two nations closer and land mark deals are achieved. The current visit by the Chinese president to Russia once again aims at the chalking out the direction and goals for the development of bilateral ties, deepening mutual political trust, and taking cooperation to a new level.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, China-Russia trade grew 33.7 percent in the first five months this year 32.8 billion U.S. dollars. The Leadership of the two countries aims to raise the trade volume between the two countries to 200 billion dollars by 2020. Which is an extremely high figure compared with last year’s trade volume standing at 69.5 billion dollars, but recent and frequent exchanges of visits amongst the leadership of the two countries translated into setting up measures and plans which will ensure the successful achievement of the target of 200 billion dollars bilateral trade volume by 2020. This is the reason why Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin seems very confident when he said, "I'm convinced that the forthcoming visit of President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping to Russia in July will give an additional impetus to cooperation in various fields and will allow us to come closer to the goal of bringing mutual trade to 200 billion dollars by 2020." 

President Xi’s visit to Russia is also important because further concrete steps will be taken to cement the bilateral relationship as the top leaders of the two countries will sign a joint statement and approve the outlines for the 2017-2020 implementation of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between China and Russia.

China’s aims at building an interconnected world through its Belt and Road initiative provides perfect opportunities for the two neighbors to boost cooperation and this is the reason why Oreshkin believes that, "There are good conditions for cooperation in creating transport corridors -- railways, highways and ports -- through the territory of Russia, connecting the markets of China and Europe."

In the recent past many analysts and even key leaders from both the countries have been talking about the vast opportunities in the pairing of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The Belt and Road initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes. The EAEU encompasses Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, with an intention of promising regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services and people within the union. Since both the initiatives on paper and in spirit aim at boosting trade and creating a win-win scenario for all, this time around it is proposed that two leaders President Xi and Putin will bring the two initiatives closer and this will be a major victory for free trade.  

Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China and specialized in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.