The United States believes that relations between China and Russia are “colored by hidden tensions and strategic mistrust.” This is stated in the latest Pentagon report on China.
The Americans say that while dictators Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping appear to believe the benefits of cooperation outweigh the costs of working together, the relationship “remains tinged by underlying tensions and strategic mistrust.”
It notes that Beijing’s mistrust of Moscow is likely fueled by the perception that the Russian Empire and the USSR have historically taken advantage of a weaker China.
The Pentagon writes that despite the normalization of Sino-Soviet relations in 1980 and the resolution of long-standing border disputes, China is still “suspicious of Russian intentions.”
The report says China is using Russia’s past humiliations of the PRC – such as the signing of unfair border treaties that ceded large swaths of Chinese territory to the Russian Far East – as a source of nationalism.
The US military has stressed that for Russia, Russia’s geographic location and declining population in the Far East raises concerns that China could encroach on its interests, exploit weaknesses or reduce it to an inferior partner in their relationship.
“The rise of China, growing ambitions to establish a military presence in the Arctic, and weak economic and military support from Russia during the war in Ukraine are likely all contributing to ongoing tensions in relations,” the document concluded.
- A declassified US intelligence report says China is helping Russia circumvent Western sanctions and is also likely providing Moscow with military and dual-use technologies for war.
- According to the FT, at the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, China showed a “constructive position” and Kiev was pleased.
- Messages from the diplomatic services of Russia and China indicate that the positions of Beijing and Moscow on the issues of the Russian war against Ukraine are increasingly diverging , writes ISW.
Source : News
