The meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in the Chinese eastern
city of Huangshan on March 30, is likely to go down in history as a decisive meeting in the relations between the two
Asian giants.
The meeting was not only important due to its timing or the fact that it reaffirmed the growing ties between Moscow and
Beijing, but because of the resolute political discourse articulated by the two top diplomats.
In Huangshan, there was no place for ambiguity. Lavrov spoke of a new ‘world order’, arguing that the world is now
“living through a very serious stage in the history of international relations” in reference to the escalating
Russia-Ukraine/NATO conflict.
“We, together with you (China) and with our sympathizers,” Lavrov added with assuredness, “will move towards a
multipolar, just, democratic world order.”
For his part, Wang Yi restated his country’s position regarding its relations with Russia and the West with precise
words, some of which were used before in the February 4 meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese
counterpart, Xi Jinping. “China-Russia cooperation has no limits ... Our striving for peace has no limits, our upholding
of security has no limits, our opposition towards hegemony has no limits,” Wang said.
Those following the evolution of the Russia-China political discourse, even before the start of the Russia-Ukraine war
on February 24, will notice that the language employed supersedes that of a regional conflict, into the desire to bring
about the reordering of world affairs altogether.
Though the readiness to push against US-led western hegemony is inherent in both countries’ political objectives, rarely
did Moscow and Beijing move forward in challenging western dominance, as is the case today. The fact that China has
refused to support western economic sanctions, condemn or isolate Russia is indicative of a clear Chinese forward
thinking policy.
Moreover, Beijing and Moscow are clearly not basing their future relation on the outcome of the Ukraine war alone. What
they are working to achieve is a long term political strategy that they hope would ultimately lead to a multipolar
world.
Russia’s motives behind the coveted paradigm shift are obvious: resisting NATO’s eastern expansion, reasserting itself
as a global power and freeing itself from the humiliating legacy of the post-Soviet Union. China, too, has a regional
and global agenda. Though China’s ambitions are partly linked to different geopolitical spheres - South and East China
Seas and the Indo-Pacific region - much of Beijing’s grievances, and priorities, overlap with those of Moscow.
Aside from the direct economic interests between Russia and China, who share massive and growing markets, they are faced
with similar challenges: both are hoping to gain greater access to waterways and to push back against US-western
military advancements in some of the world’s most important trade routes.
It was no surprise that one of Russia’s top strategic priorities from its war with Ukraine is to widen its access to the
Black Sea, a major trade hub with a sizable percentage of world trade, especially in wheat and other essential food
supplies.
Like Russia, China too has been laboring to escape US military hegemony, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. The
exponential rise in the Chinese military budget - estimated to grow by 7.1% in 2022, speaks of the way that China sees
its role in world affairs, now and in the future.
The US trade war against China, which was accelerated by former US President Donald Trump, was a clear reminder to
Beijing that global economic power can only be guaranteed through an equal military might. This realization explains
China’s decision to open its first overseas military base in Djibouti, in the very strategic Horn of Africa, in 2017, in
addition to Beijing’s military moves in the three artificial islands in the South China Sea, and its latest military
deal with Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.
While the Russian and Chinese motives, as enunciated by top officials on both sides are clear - to “move towards a
multipolar world order” - the US and its allies are not motivated by a specific, forward thinking political doctrine, as
was often the case in the past. Washington simply aims to contain the two rising powers as stated in the yet-to-be
officially released 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS). According to the NDS, “the growing multi-domain threat posed
by the (People’s Republic of China) PRC” is the primary challenge to US interests, followed by the “acute threats” posed
by Russia.
Considering the complex interests of both Russia and China, and the fact that the two countries are facing the same
mutual enemy, chances are the war in Ukraine is merely a prelude to a protracted conflict that will manifest itself
through economic, political and diplomatic pressures and even outright wars.
Though it is premature to speak about the future of this global conflict with certainty, there is little doubt that we
are now living in a new era of global affairs, one which is fundamentally different from the decades that followed the
dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Equally true, we also know that both China and Russia will be important players in shaping that future, which could
indeed push us away from US-western hegemony and “towards a multipolar world order”.
- Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest
book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak
out”. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is
www.ramzybaroud.net