Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
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Kremlin says project highlights the growing closeness between the two countries
Military observers argue cooperation between the two sides helps provide counterbalance to American military might
Vladimir Putin disclosed the project at a forum in Sochi. Photo: Sputnik/AFP
Russia is helping China to build an early warning system to counter missile attacks, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Speaking at an international affairs conference in the resort town of Sochi, he said Moscow was helping China increase its missile defence capability, Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik reported.
“This is a very serious endeavour that will fundamentally and radically increase the defence capability of the People’s Republic of China because only the United States and Russia have such a system at present,” the Russian leader said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say when the system would be operational, but told reporters on a conference call that the move highlighted Russia’s close ties with China.
“Russia has special relations with China of advanced partnership … including the most sensitive [areas] linked to military-technical cooperation and security and defence capabilities,” Peskov said.
Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong said Putin’s remarks indicated that military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow may have evolved from the previous “model alliance” to a “real alliance” with the US as their common target.
“Such changes will likely further fuel the strategic arms race, which is already evident from the missile tests [that we have witnessed] and the recent military parade,” said Wong in a reference to the grand parade held in Beijing on Tuesday when China celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes China’s defence minister Wei Fenghe (right) to a base in Orenburg at the start of a joint exercise. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong-based military analyst Song Zhongping said the system would help Beijing and Moscow set up a joint early ballistic missile network to counter “American global hegemony”.
“If the US wants to attack China [with its ICBMs], their missiles are likely to be launched from the Arctic, and that will be covered by Russia’s early warning system, and that means Moscow will have the capability to alert Beijing,” said Song who added that the Chinese military could provide reciprocal help to Russia.
Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming said Putin’s remarks served as a veiled warning to US President Donald Trump who has taken the unilateral step of withdrawing from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a cold war-era pact signed between the US and Russia in 1987.
“Joint cooperation will help both Russia and China to save costs because early warning ballistic missile systems are very expensive,” Zhou said,
However, he said Moscow was unlikely to share its most advanced technologies with China.
“For example, Russia’s missile defence system just covers Moscow and St Petersburg, so China’s network will properly just cover Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei province, the Yangtze River Delta area, the Greater Bay Area in South China, as well as a number of key cities in the centre.”
Putin also told the forum that the two countries would continue to work together on space exploration.
Last month, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation announced that Moscow and Beijing have developed a plan for cooperation between military departments for next year and 2021.
Last month 1,600 members of the Chinese military arrived at a Russian training base in the Orenburg oblast for a large-scale joint training exercise.
BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — At a time when the China-Russia relationship is at an all-time high, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit will further enhance strategic mutual trust and inject fresh vitality into practical cooperation between the two partners.
Li’s visit, scheduled from Monday to Wednesday, comes as the two countries are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties, and have embarked on a new historic journey since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia in June.
During Xi’s visit, China and Russia agreed to lift their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, opening a new chapter of bilateral cooperation conducive to global stability and prosperity.
Under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, Xi and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, relations between Beijing and Moscow have seen closer cooperation and growing mutual support on a wide range of issues in the past several years.
Bilateral trade has maintained a steady growth momentum. In 2018, two-way trade surged 27.1 percent to hit a record of 107.1 billion U.S. dollars, the highest growth rate among China’s top 10 trading partners. The two countries are working hard to double the trade volume by 2024.
Sub-national exchanges are blossoming. With 2018 and 2019 designated as the years of China-Russia local cooperation and exchanges, local regions of the two countries have carried out close economic and trade cooperation as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
Meanwhile, the two sides are actively seeking greater synergy and cooperation between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union to boost connectivity across the continent.
During his stay in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, Li and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will co-chair the 24th regular meeting between the two countries’ heads of government, a key mechanism and platform to promote cooperation and facilitate communication.
They will exchange in-depth views on how to fully translate the consensus between Xi and Putin into win-win cooperation, and sign a series of agreements on trade, energy, technology and other areas, so as to demonstrate both countries’ determination to strengthen their friendly and fruitful ties.
In the face of rising unilateralism, protectionism and anti-globalization, China and Russia, both responsible major countries, share a similar view on building a more open world economy, improving global governance and promoting democracy in international relations.
During Li’s visit, the two sides are expected to jointly voice their support for multilateralism and global free trade. That will further enrich the close China-Russia partnership and give better play to its role as a model of cooperation between the world’s major countries.
Standing at a new starting point, the two close neighbors will continue to play a constructive role in promoting world peace, stability and development.
The Indian prime minister refused to back the Chinese leader’s ambitious global infrastructure vision at a summit last week, but the apparent snub is not getting in the way of amicable ties between Asia’s two biggest economies
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS Summit at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center in 2017. Photo: AFP
Their informal summit in Wuhan last year created all the right optics; even their chemistry seemed on point. So, when
met last week on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the bonhomie seemed like it was there to stay.
But a day later, cracks appeared to emerge. India, holding on to its long-stated position, delivered a public snub to China by refusing to endorse its ambitious, trillion-dollar
in Osaka, there have been increasing signs that both countries may now be trialling a fresh approach to diplomacy – one that neither sidesteps contentious issues nor does it allow differences to derail ties.
Chinese President Xi Jinping leads other leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi at the 2018 summit. Photo: Xinhua
Such an approach would delink the thorny issues – like the
was expected to scrap plans to build jointly with China an ocean observatory overlooking the Indian Ocean. The news came a week after Modi had visited the Maldives capital Male in early June.
For Modi 2.0, India’s US-China balancing act just got trickier
The Maldives’ decision to build the observatory was first mulled in December 2017, raising the Indian establishment’s hackles as it would have given China a presence in the region.
Another irritant between India and China has seemed to be the proposed 16-nation
(RCEP). India has been lukewarm on the free-trade bloc, frustrating the Chinese. Indications have been that China is likely to push for a 13-member bloc at the coming RCEP meeting in Thailand on June 20, excluding India.
BRI and border issues have not managed to overshadow the remaining business between the two countries Narayani Basu
Yet, despite all this, there has been no let down in engagement levels between Modi and Xi. Both leaders are expected to meet at the RIC summit on June 29 to 30, and have at least two more meetings planned this year alone – an informal Xi-Modi summit in India
in October and the BRICS summit on November 13 to 14.
For Narayani Basu, a New Delhi-based author and independent foreign policy analyst with a special focus on China, such sustained engagement between the two countries signals a new level of maturity.
“There has been a fairly successful attempt at delinking historical geopolitical and territorial issues from issues which are economic in nature,” Basu said. “As a result, the BRI and border issues have not managed to overshadow the remaining business between the two countries.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan. Photo: Xinhua
STRONG LEADERS, STRONGER AGENDAS
The approach might also have to do with where both leaders currently stand.
Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have freshly emerged from a landslide
. Through the campaign, Modi portrayed a hardline image of himself and his government, especially on issues of national security. Similarly, Xi has emerged as a stronger leader since his reappointment last year – his approach marked by a higher-than-ever emphasis on economic nationalism and connectivity. Modi made a reference to this in his SCO meeting with Xi.
Basu said Sino-India ties were also being guided by the personalities of both leaders – strong, with harder-than-before agendas.
Did Japan and India just launch a counter to belt and road?
“They both came back on agendas based on consolidation of power, protection of sovereignty and nationalism. These are all issues that will not allow either side to blink easily. “So, even as both leaders are looking to move forward, they also do not want to compromise on their core issues – primary among them being territorial sovereignty,” she said.
The message is loud – India’s opposition to the BRI does not mean India will allow adversarial relations to develop between the two Sana Hashmi
In his SCO summit speech, Modi brought up territorial sovereignty as a thinly veiled reference to China’s BRI, saying India only supported connectivity projects that are based on “respect of sovereignty” and “regional integrity”.
Sana Hashmi, an analyst with Perth-based think tank Future Directions International and author of China’s Approach Towards Territorial Disputes: Lessons and Prospects, agreed that India was not letting historical issues get in the way of its relationship with Beijing.
Hashmi noted that India’s main objections to BRI revolved around one component – the China-
Economic Corridor (CPEC), which runs through the disputed region of Kashmir.
“But to make sure this does not affect the relationship, PM Modi and President Xi are meeting numerous times,” Hashmi said. “The message is loud – India’s opposition to the BRI does not mean India will allow adversarial relations to develop between the two.”
A NEED FOR EACH OTHER
Another factor that has likely prompted the new approach between India and China is their need for each other, particularly as both Asian powers navigate bumpy relationships with US under
and is reeling from the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports to America. India, too, has seen a similar but smaller version of this trade battle play out – things have escalated especially since the Trump administration withdrew its preferential trade treatment towards India. Responding to this, India imposed tariffs on 28 US products over the weekend.
Move over, ‘Made in China’. It’s ‘Made in Bangladesh’ era now
In such a context, a stronger relationship between the two Asian giants might be in mutual interest.
Basu said the scope for the relationship to deliver on, especially economically, is vast.
“Despite the chemistry, India and China’s promises to each other on the economic front haven’t materialised on the ground. Major projects as well as investments in each country are stuck.”
Chinese president also called for the three nations to uphold multilateralism in talks with Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi in Osaka
In a separate meeting with other BRICS leaders, he said Beijing opposed ‘illegal and unilateral sanctions’ and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’
(From left) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on the leaders of Russia and India to take “global responsibility” to safeguard the three countries’ interests and uphold multilateralism, as Beijing seeks to rally support amid its protracted trade war with Washington.
Xi made the remarks during a trilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the annual
with US President Donald Trump, seeking to reach a truce on the year-long trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies.
“The rise of protectionism and unilateralism has severely affected global stability and economic growth, as well as the existing international order which emerging economies and developing countries have relied on,” Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV.
“China, Russia and India should take on global responsibility to safeguard the fundamental and long-term interests of these three countries and the world,” he said.
Xi also called for the nations to promote “a more multipolar world and the democratisation of international relations” – meaning with less reliance on a US-led world order.
During a meeting with leaders of the other BRICS countries – major emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – Xi also said Beijing opposed what it saw as “illegal and unilateral sanctions” and “long-arm jurisdiction”.
The efforts to forge closer ties among China, Russia and India come as all three nations are locked in disputes with the United States.
New Delhi, a key strategic ally in Washington’s Indo-Pacific policy to contain China’s rise, has been upset over tariffs imposed on Indian goods by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, geopolitical rivalry and the Kremlin’s alleged meddling in US elections has strained relations between Moscow and Washington.
Beneath the smiles and handshakes, tensions simmer as world leaders meet for G20
Wu Jianghao, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s Asian affairs department, said the trilateral meeting laid out a framework for future cooperation.
“The three countries have spoken with one voice on some major global issues, helping stability and injecting positive energy to the current international situation – which is filled with instability and uncertainties,” Wu said at a briefing on Friday.
Wu said that the leaders did not talk about Huawei Technologies or 5G networks, but that the three countries had maintained good communication on telecoms issues and would continue to cooperate.
Washington has banned US companies from selling American technology to Huawei and put pressure on its allies to block the Chinese tech firm over security concerns.
(From left) US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo before their meeting. Photo: AP
Meanwhile, the United States is also seeking to build ties with India, with Trump holding trilateral talks with Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale described that trilateral meeting as “very good”, saying it was “short but very productive”.
“The main topic of discussion was the Indo-Pacific, about how the three countries could work together in terms of connectivity, infrastructure and ensuring that peace and stability is maintained, and working together to build upon this new concept so that it would benefit the region as a whole and the three countries,” Gokhale said.
On the Modi-Trump bilateral meeting, he said the two leaders had “a very warm discussion”. They also briefly discussed 5G, with the focus on business cooperation between the two countries to leverage their technology and the potential of the Indian market, according to Gokhale.
He said the discussion of how to develop 5G networks was “in terms of business, not in terms of governments”. “It’s an exciting new area that India and the US can work together [on],” he said.
Agreements to boost cooperation in spheres such as energy and technology highlight closer partnership in face of tensions with US
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin agreed to deepen their unprecedented partnership. Photo: Xinhua
China and Russia have signed more than US$20 billion of deals to boost economic ties in areas such as technology and energy following Xi Jinping’s summit with his “best friend” Vladimir Putin.
Wednesday’s meeting between the two presidents, who have spoken of their desire to boost practical cooperation in the face of increasing rivalry with the United States, marked the start of Xi’s three-day visit to Russia to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Beijing.
On Thursday the Chinese commerce ministry said that the two sides aimed to increase the volume of trade between the two countries to US$200 billion a year following last year’s 24.5 per cent rise to a record level of US$108 billion.
Gao Feng, a spokesman for the ministry, said the deals covered areas such as nuclear power, natural gas, automobiles, hi-tech development, e-commerce and 5G communications.
The deals were the first concrete results of the warm words exchanged between the leaders, who agreed to deepen their “unprecedented” strategic partnership for “mutual advantage”.
“We discussed the current state of, and prospects for, bilateral cooperation in a businesslike and constructive manner, and reviewed, in substance, important international issues while paying close attention to Russia-China cooperation in areas that are truly important for both countries,” Putin said in a joint press statement with Xi on Wednesday.
Xi – who had previously told Russian media that he “treasured” the relationship with Putin, whom he described as “my best friend” – said the two countries would work to “build mutual support and assistance in issues that concern our key interests in the spirit of innovation, cooperation for the sake of mutual advantage, and promote our relations in the new era for the benefit of our two nations and the peoples of the world”.
Russia is already China’s biggest oil exporter, and has agreed to further joint ventures. Photo: Reuters
Putin also highlighted the energy cooperation between the two countries, adding that Russia was China’s leading oil exporter and the eastern route of a gas pipeline between Russia and China will enter service in December.
China and Russia seek closer economic ties to counter US pressure
Novatek and Sinopec, Russian and China’s leading natural gas companies, signed a preliminary deal with Russian state-owned bank Gazprombank on Wednesday to set up a joint venture to market gas in China.
The Russian natural gas company is also forming a partnership with China Natural Petroleum Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Corporation to develop an Arctic natural gas facility, with both Chinese companies holding a 10 per cent stake in the project, according to S&P Global Platts, an energy information provider.
A general contract was also signed to build extra units of the Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant, located on the coast of the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning.
Chinese tech giant Huawei has agreed a deal with Russian telecoms firm MTS. Photo: Xinhua
The Chinese commerce ministry also said that Moscow had agreed to increase its soybean exports after imports from America declined sharply due to the ongoing trade war.
Andrey Denisov, Russia’s ambassador to China, was quoted by Chinese media as saying that the country should “double” its soybean exports to China, which currently make up a tiny proportion of the overall quantities bought by China.
The two sides are also discussing a US$153.3 million investment to create a joint agricultural holding company in Primorsky in Russia’s far east.
Russia’s Putin calls time on UK spy scandal: ‘it’s your agent, not ours’
Meanwhile, Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, which has been targeted by US sanctions after it was accused of spying and undermining national security, signed a deal with Russian telecoms company MTS to develop a 5G network.
China Investment Corporation and RDIF, a Russian sovereign wealth fund, were also reported to have agreed to set up a US$1 billion joint technology research fund, according the US-based analysts Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.
Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University of China, said the two sides were boosting their strategic and diplomatic collaboration at a time of “extraordinary” tensions between Washington and Beijing.
“Though concrete cooperation in hi-tech areas [between Beijing and Moscow] is necessarily limited, in the purely military field it is assured,” Shi, an adviser to China’s State Council, said.
China’s Huawei signs deal to develop 5G in Russia
Last September, 300,000 soldiers from the two countries took part in
a joint military exercise in eastern Siberia, the largest such drill in Russia in nearly four decades.
While Xi is highlighting his rapport with his “best friend” Putin, the professor added, “the romance has gone out of the personal relationship between Xi and [Donald] Trump”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects the guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival at the airport in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019. Xi arrived here on Wednesday for a state visit to Russia. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)
MOSCOW, June 5 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here on Wednesday for a state visit to Russia as the two countries are expected to bring their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination to a new era.
Upon arrival, Xi said he would exchange views with Russian President Vladimir Putin on how to deepen bilateral ties and promote practical cooperation, and over major international and regional issues of common concerns.
The two heads of state would plan for the future development of bilateral relationship so as to push forward the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination to a new era of greater development at a higher level, Xi said.
Xi’s visit to Russia, the eighth since 2013 when he was elected Chinese president, comes as the two countries are embracing the historic moment of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
Thanks to the joint efforts from both sides, China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is now at its best in history, serving as a model of living in harmony and win-win cooperation between major countries and neighboring countries, Xi said.
China and Russia enjoy strong political trust, maintain sound mechanisms of high-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and keep close coordination in global affairs, playing a positive and constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability of the region and the world as well as international fairness and justice, Xi said.
After standing the test of changing circumstances over the past 70 years, the bilateral relations are increasingly mature, stable and resilient, Xi said, noting the ties is at a new historical starting point with a new historic opportunity.
During the visit, Xi and Putin are expected to sign or witness the signing of important cooperation documents, and attend a gathering celebrating the 70 anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.
Xi will also attend the 23rd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He will address a plenary session to expound China’s ideas on sustainable development and call for concerted efforts to safeguard multilateralism and improve global governance for the common development and prosperity of the world.
Xi and Putin, maintaining close friendship, have met nearly 30 times on bilateral and multilateral occasions since 2013. In a meeting with Putin in April, Xi said the bilateral relationship has become a major-country relationship featuring the highest degree of mutual trust, the highest level of coordination and the highest strategic value.
President Xi Jinping will meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next month and address economic summit in St Petersburg
Diplomatic flurry will also include regional security forums in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Xi Jinping has met Vladimir Putin more times than any other foreign leader since he took power in 2013. Photo: AFP
Beijing is stepping up efforts to seek support from regional and global players such as Russia and Central Asian nations as its geostrategic rivalry with Washington heats up.
President Xi Jinping is expected to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next month, when he will also address the St Petersburg International Economic Summit,
The Chinese president will also visit the Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in June, as well as another regional security forum in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, Vice-PresidentWang Qishan is visiting Pakistan before he heads to the Netherlands and Germany, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan meets Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan in Islamabad on Sunday. Photo: AFP
The latest flurry of diplomatic activity comes as competition between China and the US intensifies on several fronts including trade and technology, the South China Sea and the Arctic, where Beijing’s partnership with Moscow –
It will be Xi’s second time at the St Petersburg forum, and observers expect the Chinese leader will reaffirm Beijing’s commitment to multilateralism and promote the nation as a champion of openness and cooperation.
China-Russia ties unrivalled, Beijing warns before Pompeo meets Putin
It will also be his second meeting with Putin in two months, after talks on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in late April, when the Russian president
for the controversial China-led infrastructure and investment initiative.
With China and Russia edging closer, the latest meeting is likely to see efforts to coordinate their strategies on a range of issues – including Venezuela, North Korea, nuclear weapons and arms control, according to observers. Xi has met Putin more times than any other foreign leader since he took power in 2013.
“This time it is very likely that the latest anti-China moves by the US, such as new tariffs and the Huawei ban, will feature prominently in their conversations,” said Artyom Lukin, an associate professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok.
Lukin said Russia’s stagnating economy and sanctions imposed by the West limited its role as a substitute for the foreign markets and technologies China could lose access to because of the US crusade. But he said Putin would “provide political and moral support to Xi”.
“That is also significant as Russia has been withstanding intense US-led sanctions pressure for more than five years already,” Lukin said, referring to sanctions imposed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Xi and Putin are also expected to talk about Venezuela, where US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido is attempting to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has the support of China and Russia.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has the backing of China and Russia. Photo: AP
“Moscow and Beijing are not able to seriously hurt Washington by raising tariffs or denying access to high technology. However, there are plenty of areas where coordinated Sino-Russian policies can damage US interests in the short term or in the long run,” Lukin said. “For example, Moscow and Beijing could intensify their joint support for the Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro, frustrating Washington’s efforts to dislodge him.”
China and Russia would also be seeking to boost economic ties. Bilateral trade, dominated by Chinese imports of gas and oil, reached US$108 billion last year – falling far short of the target set in 2011 by Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, of US$200 billion by 2020.
China and Russia to forge stronger Eurasian economic ties
Li Lifan, an associate research professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said bilateral trade was a sticking point. “This is one of the potential hindrances in China-Russia relations and Beijing is hoping to [address this] … in the face of a possible global economic slowdown,” Li said.
Given the escalating trade war with Washington, he said China would seek to diversify its investments and markets to other parts of the world, particularly Russia and Europe.
“China will step up its investment cooperation with Europe and Russia and focus more on multilateral investment,” Li said.
But Beijing was not expected to do anything to worsen tensions with Washington.
“China is currently taking a very cautious approach towards the US, trying to avoid heating up the confrontation and further aggravation of the situation,” said Danil Bochkov, a contributing author with the Russian International Affairs Council. “For China it is important to demonstrate that it has a reliable friend – Russia – but that should not be done in an openly provocative manner.”
Stephen Blank, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, said Beijing and Moscow would also seek to contain US influence “as far as possible” from Central Asia, where China has increased its engagement through infrastructure building under the “Belt and Road Initiative”.
Leaders from the region will gather in Bishkek next month for the SCO summit, a security bloc set up in 2001 that now comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Those members account for about 23 per cent of the world’s land mass, 45 per cent of its population, and 25 per cent of global GDP.
Newly re-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could meet the Chinese president for talks in Bishkek next month. Photo: EPA-EFE
There is growing speculation that Xi will meet newly re-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of that summit.
Independent analyst and author Namrata Goswami said India would be seeking a commitment to a WTO-led and rules-based multilateral trading system during the SCO talks.
“This is interesting and significant given the current US tendencies under President Donald Trump focused on ‘America first’ and the US-China trade war,” Goswami said.
Counterterrorism will again be a top priority at the SCO summit, amid concerns among member states about the rising number of Islamic State fighters returning from Syria and Iraq. Chinese scholars estimated last year that around 30,000 jihadists who had fought in Syria had gone back to their home countries, including China.
Alexander Bortnikov, chief of the main Russian intelligence agency FSB, said earlier that 5,000 fighters from a group affiliated with Isis had gathered in areas bordering former Soviet states in Central Asia, saying most of them had fought alongside Isis in Syria.
War-torn Afghanistan, which shares a border with four SCO member states – China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – is also likely to be high on the agenda at the Bishkek summit.
“With the Trump administration drafting plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, the SCO will assess the security situation there and decide whether to provide training for Afghan troops,” Li said.
Eva Seiwert, a doctoral candidate at the Free University of Berlin, expected the security bloc would also discuss Iran after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and ordered new sanctions against the country.
Iran, which has observer status with the SCO, was blocked from becoming a full member in 2008 because it was subject to UN sanctions at the time. But its membership application could again be up for discussion.
Iran presses China and Russia to save nuclear deal
“The Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 made it easy for China and Russia to present themselves as the proponents of peaceful settlement of conflicts,” Seiwert said. “Discussing the possibility of admitting Iran as a full member state would help the SCO members demonstrate their support of multilateral and peaceful cooperation.
“This would be a strong signal to the US and enhance the SCO’s standing in the international community,” she said.
Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov (right) meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bishkek on Tuesday last week. Photo: Xinhua
As well as security, Xi’s visit to Central Asia is also likely to focus on economic ties. Meeting Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov in Bishkek last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would continue to “provide support and help national development and construction in Kyrgyzstan”.
Li said China may increase investment in the Central Asian region, especially in greenfield projects.
“China will continue to buy agriculture products from Central Asia, such as cherries from Uzbekistan, and build hydropower projects to meet local energy demand,” Li said. “Investment in solar and wind energy projects is also expected to increase too.”
At the first day of the forum in Beijing, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun said China aims to make the Belt and Road initiative sustainable and to prevent debt risks.
Last year, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a speech Belt and Road was not a “geostrategic concept” but was part of efforts to build “a community with a shared future for mankind together with countries around the globe.”
Leaders from 37 countries and dozens of officials are due to attend the three-day summit, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Western governments, and particularly the US, are increasingly wary of China’s growing influence.
The US, which has fought a trade war with China over the past year, has been particularly critical of the project.
Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech last year China was using “debt diplomacy” to expand its influence around the world.
Debt trap?
Other countries that are set to benefit from the project also seem to be growing more cautious.
Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Pakistan have all expressed concerns about the programme. Recipient countries worry about debt accumulation and increased Chinese influence.
Tom Rafferty, China economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, said China is using this week’s summit to “reposition and, it hopes, revive the initiative after it lost its way in 2018 amid project delays and a slowdown in associated lending.”
Mr Rafferty said the Chinese government “wants to convince the international community that the Belt and Road Initiative is inclusive and policy concessions in areas such as debt sustainability” are likely.
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) — China highly appreciates Russian President Vladimir Putin’s positive remarks on China-Russia ties as he delivered a state of the nation address, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Thursday.
In the annual address, Putin described the relations of Russia and China as important “stable forces” of the international community.
Geng said the rapid development of China-Russia relations under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state gained not only fruitful achievement at the bilateral level but also injected positive energy in maintaining global strategic stability.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the two countries’ establishment of diplomatic ties. Geng said that the two countries should take the opportunity to continuously deepen strategic coordination, push for further development of bilateral ties and better benefit the two peoples and safeguard the security and the stability of the world.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 