Old friendship in new era vital beyond Far East

WU WANQIAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China, from Tuesday to Wednesday, will be a commemorative occasion to some extent.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between Russia and China as well as the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

These two initiatives have laid the foundation for the rapid strengthening of cooperation between the two countries, now seen by the two sides as a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.

The strengthening of the partnership has yielded tangible results. Over the past 25 years, more than 300 intergovernmental treaties and agreements have been signed.

There are five intergovernmental commissions, covering all areas of cooperation: economics, trade, humanitarian affairs, investment, energy, and interaction between border regions.

This comprehensive structure of strategic partnership extends from annual meetings of heads of state and government to cooperation between regions, provinces, municipalities, universities and companies.

There's hardly any major organization in Russia or China that doesn't have partners in the other country.

According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, deepening relations with China is a priority for Russia, and aligns with the objectives of strengthening good-neighborliness and mutual development.

Neither Russia nor China has such a comprehensive system of cooperation with any other country in the world.

The partnership is based not on the similarity of ideologies, but on the strategic interests in an emerging multipolar world.

Both China and Russia aim to be the new poles of global influence.

Since the Western center of power, dominant since the collapse of the Soviet Union, is unwilling to relinquish its supremacy, rising non-Western centers of influence find common ground in balancing Western influence.

The goal is to gradually improve the global governance system.

Several other countries, including India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, are potential players in this multipolar order.

This explains the growing popularity and influence of non-Western international organizations and groups such as BRICS, SCO, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations among several others.

The development of many of these forums, such as BRICS and the SCO, was initially spurred by the Sino-Russian proposals and the two countries' shared vision for the world order.

However, contrary to Western narratives, Russia and China do not seek to undermine the existing "rules-based" international order.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world order — based on the idea of sovereignty of states and the central role of the United Nations, where decisions were not made without the consensus of all permanent Security Council members — began to constrain the US and its allies' pursuit of complete dominance.

Theories such as the "responsibility to protect" emerged in the West, which, contrary to the UN Charter, effectively permitted interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states without their consent.

Russia and China rejected these ideas and advocated preserving the post-World War II international law.

Thus, Russia and China play a stabilizing role in international affairs.

This has been particularly evident in the policies of certain Western powers, which openly reject the principles of international law and proclaim the simple right of might, drawing mild criticism from their own allies that are accustomed to justifying their hegemonic goals with elaborate interpretations of international law.

At a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on April 15 in Beijing, President Xi Jinping urged closer and stronger strategic coordination between China and Russia to firmly defend their legitimate interests and safeguard the unity of Global South countries.

Xi also called on the two countries to shoulder their responsibilities as major countries and permanent members of the UN Security Council.

It is necessary for the two sides to fully leverage the advantages of proximity and complementarity, deepen cooperation on all fronts, and enhance the resilience of their respective development.

Xi also emphasized the need to strengthen multilateral cooperation, firmly uphold and practice multilateralism, join hands to revive the authority and vitality of the UN, engage in closer coordination and cooperation within the frameworks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS countries, and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction.

These goals align with Russia's interests, and China exemplifies their successful implementation.

Despite some unfair criticisms from the West, China remains the most peace-loving and effective major power in the world.

For nearly half a century, its armed forces have not been deployed in any operation abroad, except for peacekeeping and UN-approved ones.

China does not participate in any regional conflict, but always expresses its principled position.

It has put forward peace initiatives, and even expressed a willingness to mediate in their resolution.

By focusing on domestic development, China has achieved unprecedented success, becoming the second-largest economy in the world.

It is approaching the status of moderately developed countries in per capita GDP, with a powerful and stable economy, a unique culture, and one of the best-equipped modern armies in the world.

Today, China is Russia's most important strategic and trade partner. Its role has grown particularly over the past four years, when Russia's ties with Europe have been curtailed.

At the same time, China is extremely interested in expanding cooperation with Russia, amid political and economic pressure from the US and its allies.

Under these circumstances, the strategic partnership between the two countries will only deepen.

The outcome of Putin's visit to Beijing will be closely watched around the world.

The author is the academic head at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.