Russia, China Solidify Disturbing Alliance

[American Patriot]

A China-Russia alliance... everything the world has always desired. A Communist power that aligns itself with another Communist power.

The upcoming war will be much more difficult for those of us who will be fighting in it.

Especially since our own country will simply cave leaving the rest of us in the cold.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia, China sign military cooperation protocol

November 9, 2010

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and the head of China's Central Military Commission, Guo Boxiong, on Tuesday signed an agreement on developing military cooperation between the two states.

"First of all, it concerns contracts to supply spare parts for air defense systems, aviation and navy equipment," the minister's spokeswoman said.

The document was signed during a meeting of the Russian-Chinese intergovernmental commission on military cooperation in Beijing.

The sides noted "good perspectives for bilateral cooperation in spheres related to combat and military transport aviation, naval equipment, air defense systems and post-sale maintenance of Russian-made equipment that the Chinese army has in service," the spokeswoman added.

[American Patriot]

Bilateral support for their respective militaries.

Good... God.

[Ryan Ruck]

Yep, even though this is very short, if you read between the lines you can see this was an agreement to work out logistics support. Wars are won and lost on logistics...

[RememberCuba94]

This is quite the unholy union.

[Ryan Ruck]

China To Offer Russia US$6-Bln Loan For 25-Year Coal Supply

September 13, 2010

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation said in a statement posted on its website that China last month has agreed to offer Russia US$6 billion in loan in exchange for a 25-year long coal supply, sources reported.

According to the statement, China plans to increase its annual coal import from Russia to 15 million tons in the next five years, and then further to increase to at least 20 million tons in 20 years.

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko said that China's huge coal imports will become the most attractive and strategic market for Russian's coal industry.

Pursuant to the agreement, Russian will allot the loan to develop coal mines, build infrastructure and purchase coal processing facilities from China.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Hails Oil Pipe As First Step Towards China

September 27, 2010

Russia and China opened a historic oil pipeline in a move hailed by their leaders as the first step towards diversifying Russia’s energy exports away from Europe and towards its eastern neighbour.

The commercial logic of greater energy links between one of the largest producers of energy and the world’s largest consumer has outweighed political distrust between the two nations, which fought a brief war in 1969 and only two years ago finalised border delimitation.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao marked the completion of the Chinese branch by simultaneously pressing a button to open the pipeline during a ceremony in Beijing on Monday.

“Our co-operation has already reached the level of strategic partnership,” said Mr Medvedev. Negotiations over the pipeline, which began 14 years ago, have tracked the warming relations between the two countries, which now conduct military exercises together.

The pipeline represents a strategic shift for Russia’s energy industry. Currently, its maze of oil and gas pipelines head westward, supplying Europe, and Russian leaders have long said they wanted to diversify exports.

Julia Nanay, of PFC Energy in Washington, said such moves had “become an important strategic priority for Russia”.

The new EPSO pipeline snakes through east Siberian steppes from the Russian town of Skvordino to Daqing, an oil hub in China.

It is expected to start pumping 300,000 barrels a day on January 1. State-controlled Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil concern, will sell the crude to China’s top energy group, PetroChina.

Oil exports are to be followed by gas exports, as China is eager to burn less coal and more environmentally friendly gas. In 2006 Russia agreed to build two gas pipelines to China, carrying 68bn cu m of gas per year, though failure to agree on a pricing formula have delayed the progress of the gas lines.

Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said it had cemented terms for a supply deal to sell 30bn cu m to China National Petroleum Corp annually. The two countries have not managed to clinch a gas price deal, however.

“We expect commercial contracts by the middle of 2011,” Igor Sechin, Russia’s deputy prime minister, told reporters.

“Practically, there are no limits for the growth of gas consumption in China,” said Mr Sechin, who is chairman of Russian oil company Rosneft and oversees the country’s energy and metals industries. “Secondly, Russia has all the gas needed for China’s economic development.”

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Delivers Aircraft to China

November 15, 2010

Russian Helicopter subsidiary Rostvertol JSC has delivered another Mi-26TC heavy transport helicopter to China.

The delivered aircraft was the third Mi-26TC sold to China under an agreement with China's Lectern Aviation Supplies Co. Ltd.

The helicopter is scheduled to serve in one of the fire-hazardous regions of China, Russian Helicopter said in a news release from an international air exhibition in Zhuhai.

Russian Helicopter said a new contract is in the works with Lectern Aviation for the purchase of another Mi-26TC.

The company also said it is executing a contract to deliver 32 multirole Mi-171E helicopters manufactured by Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant to China. UUAP delivered 24 Mi-171 helicopters to a Chinese customer in 2007.

Russian Helicopter is highlighting a number of aircraft at the Zhuhai Airshow, which begins Tuesday. Among them: the light, multirole Ansat and Ka-226T; medium Mi-17 and Ka-32A11BC type helicopters, the new medium-to-heavy Mi-38; and the combat Mi-35M and Mi-28N Night Hunter.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia, China Hold Massive Military Exercises in Central Asia

September 24, 2010

Joint anti-terrorism exercises of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Peace Mission 2010, enter their active phase on Friday at the Matybulak range in southeast Kazakhstan.

The 17-day drills, which began on September 9, are aimed at testing the interoperability of the SCO armed forces in rendering assistance to a member state involved in an internal armed conflict or subjected to a terrorist attack.

The exercises involve some 5,000 servicemen from five of the six SCO member states - Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan has chosen not to take part.

More than 300 military vehicles and over 50 combat aircraft and helicopters from Kazakhstan, China and Russia are employed.

Established in 2001 as a non-military alliance, the regional mutual security group SCO was initially aimed at dealing with Islamic extremism and other security threats in Central Asia, but has since expanded its scope to include cooperation in disaster relief and trade.

[vector7]

Russia in milestone oil pipeline supply to China

MOSCOW | Sat Jan 1, 2011 5:50am EST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia, the world's top crude exporter, said it had begun scheduled oil shipments to China via an East Siberian link on Saturday as the Kremlin cements ties with its energy-hungry neighbor.

So far, Russia's 50,000-km oil pipeline network has been concentrated in West Siberia and run toward Europe.

With the commissioning of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean pipeline (ESPO), Moscow is carving out a large chunk of the world's second-largest energy consumers' market.

"The shipments started at 0030 (4:30 p.m. EST on Friday). We plan to pump 1.3 million tonnes of oil in January," Igor Dyomin, a spokesman for Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, told Reuters.

According to the final schedule for crude oil exports and transit, in January-March 2011, Russia will ship 3.68 million tonnes of oil to China via ESPO.

An annual plan envisages the supply of 15 million tonnes (300,000 barrels per day). Many oil market participants expected it would effectively double Russian sales to China, which totaled 12.8 million tonnes (308,000 bpd) in the first 10 months of 2010.

Transneft started to ship the barrels along the first stage of the pipeline, which runs in a 2,757-km arch above Lake Baikal. So far the oil had been transported only by rail to the Pacific port of Kozmino.

On Saturday, the crude flowed to Daqing in China from Russia's Skovorodino via the pipeline.

When the 4,070-km the pipeline's second stage is finished in 2013, it will be the world's longest. At a cost of $25 billion, it dwarfs all other infrastructure projects in post-Soviet Russia.

Russian state oil firm Rosneft has been sending oil to China by rail ever since it bought the biggest unit of defunct oil giant Yukos six years ago.

The purchase was facilitated by a $6 billion loan from China, which effectively prepaid $17 per barrel for 48.4 million tonnes of oil.

That contract ran out this year, and Rosneft decided not to extend it, citing the low selling price.

[Ryan Ruck]

China To Explore Mars With Russia This Year

January 2, 2011

China's first Mars probe is expected to be launched in October this year in a joint operation with Russia after a two-year delay, state media reported Sunday.

The probe, Yinghuo-1, was due to blast off in October 2009 with Russia's "Phobos Explorer" from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan but the launch was postponed, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Quoting an unnamed expert at the China Academy of Space Technology, the report said the blast-off had been pushed back to October this year. It added that China planned to launch a Mars probe on its own in 2013.

According to previous reports, the orbiter is due to probe the Martian space environment with a special focus on what happened to the water that appears to have once been abundant on the planet's surface.

China has already begun probing the moon and this will be the next step in its ambitious space exploration programme, which it aims to be on a par with those of the United States and Russia.

It currently has a probe -- the Chang'e 2 -- orbiting the moon and carrying out various tests in preparation for the expected 2013 launch of the Chang'e-3, which it hopes will be its first unmanned lunar landing.

It also became the world's third nation to put a man in space independently -- after the United States and Russia -- when Yang Liwei piloted the one-man Shenzhou-5 space mission in 2003.

[vector7]

China, Russia to hold fifth strategic security negotiations

20:51, January 18, 2011

China and Russia will hold their fifth round of strategic security talks in Russia next week, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.

"At the invitation of Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, State Councilor Dai Bingguo will visit Russia from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25 to attend the fifth round of China-Russia strategic security talks," Hong Lei said at a regular press conference in Beijing.

During his visit, Dai will exchange views with senior Russian officials on important international and regional issues of common concern as well as strengthening China-Russia strategic coordination, Hong said.

A focus is to make reality the consensus of deepening the strategic partnership of coordination reached by Chinese and Russian leaders, Hong said.

"We believe that the fifth round of China-Russia strategic security negotiations will yield important results," Hong said.

The mechanism of China-Russia strategic security talks was initiated by leaders of the two countries in 2005. It is an important channel for both parties to exchange views on international affairs and bilateral relations, Hong said.

Source:Xinhua

[American Patriot]

whappened?

(hehehe sorry, I JUST caught that groupthinkspeakthing there....) lol

A way to shorten the language huh? /chuckles

[American Patriot]

US reducing Space Program, cutting NASA.

China and Russia going to Mars.

Well... it IS, after all, the "Red Planet".

/sigh

[Ryan Ruck]

Turning a New Leaf in Relations: Russia’s Renewed Arms Sale to China

January 28, 2011

Tensions in the arms sales relationship between Russia and China have been visibly on the rise in recent years. Yet, in November 2010, Moscow and Beijing announced a large new package of arms sales that appear to have turned a new leaf in this relationship. Much of the tension stemmed from the Chinese defense industry's practice of reverse engineering Russian weapons technology, indigenizing it and then reselling it in third party markets in competition with Moscow. In negotiations, China has long demanded that Russia sell it advanced technologies in its defense platforms or advanced weapons, something that Moscow has been loath to do regarding both the weapons and their components [1]. Russia has also always been concerned that China might ultimately employ these advanced technologies and systems against it or its friends in Asia. For example, in 2006 it refused to sell certain sensitive space technologies to China (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline, December 27, 2006). Nevertheless the restoration of arms sales appears to be connected with a new turn in Sino-Russian relations in China’s favor. The fifth round of Sino-Russian strategic talks took place form January 23-25 and Russia’s arms sales organization, Rosoboroneksport, has announced that it sees China as Russia’s chief partner in Asia (Interfax, January 19). This turn in Sino-Russian ties, probably dictated form the highest levels of both governments, appears to have overridden Russia’s mounting concerns about Chinese military developments.

Russian concerns about Chinese competition in Asian, African, and Latin American arms markets and the fact that China’s J-11B and J-15 fighter planes were essentially "clones" of Russia’s SU-27 and Su-33 fighter planes, respectively, are public and cited. Coupled with China’s own growing domestic capability, these factors contributed to a sharp decline in Chinese military purchases, mainly of air and sea weapons (Oruzhiye Rossii, September 29, 2010; Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2010). Yet, whether or not China’s domestic capability had increased, there is little doubt of Russia’s anger over Chinese practices of copying its weapon systems, and the fact that there was no sign of Beijing stopping this practice. Consequently both sides had reason to slow down arms purchases and sales. Indeed, in 2009-10 China has reportedly not placed a major order with Russia and, according to foreign observers, at the Zhuhai Air show in November China displayed its biggest exhibition of aircraft for sale abroad, mainly built with Russian technology and a supposedly Chinese engine (Oruzhiye Rossii, September 29, 2010; Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2010).

China’s ambassador to Russia, Li Huei—at least publicly—attributes the decline in purchases to its own growing capabilities and claims that bilateral cooperation is actually moving to a higher phase while Russia is still implementing past contracts and transferring air, air defense, and naval weapons to China (Interfax, November 17, 2010). In other words, Li refused to discuss the charges of intellectual piracy in public. In fact, earlier this year Russia did send S-300 air defenses to China (Global Security Newswire, April 2, 2010; Reuters, April 2, 2010). So before the meting of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation there was no public yielding by either side. Russian producers like Sukhoi openly proclaimed their desire to ask probing question to China about its cloning of their systems [2]. Likewise, Russian and French experts were equally frank in stating their concerns that Chinese ship-to-ship missiles might undercut them on price in third party markets [3]. Finally both Russia and China are competing to bring out as soon as possible their fifth-generation fighter planes (Jane’s Defence Weekly, December 9).

Yet from subsequent developments it seems clear that there were other concerns on Russian minds that led them to resume arms and technology transfers to China--albeit at a reduced rate. First it is clear from the press record that China’s needs are changing. Although it still needs and is buying aerial platforms, China now manifests a growing interest in obtaining engines and technologies to maintain the air fleet that it has acquired by sale or by piracy from Russia. Russia clearly wants to sell China those engines and monopolize this situation, apparently believing that by doing so it will be able to keep selling it Russian aerial platforms and maintain its advantage in the Chinese weapon market (Interfax-AVN Online, November 17, 2010). Second, Russian arms sellers have found that the only way they can discuss their concerns about unlicensed copying is to actually have a relationship with China through formal sessions like that of the Intergovernmental Commission so they cannot simply cease and desist from selling weapons to China if they wish to influence its behavior (Interfax-AVN Online, November 17, 2010).

Third, the Russian government and defense ministry have announced ambitious plans to boost arms sales throughout the world in the next decade to finance concurrent Russian defense reforms. In 2010 alone, Moscow reportedly sold a record figure of $10 billion worth of arms (RIA Novosti, December 14, 2010). Yet at the same time Russian analysts fear that arms sales may actually drop because the markets that Russia found to compensate for reduced arms sales to China in the short run—Algeria, Vietnam, Syria, and Venezuela—cannot offset the size of the Chinese market over the long run (Trud, October 29, 2010). So while China may occupy a lower place or ranking among the customers for Russian defense systems, Beijing is eager to take advantage of those opportunities that are available to Russia, largely in aerial systems and engines [4]. Fourth, even as Russian military policy is shifting (e.g. to make the Pacific Fleet the main Russian fleet) because of the Chinese threat, Moscow needs to keep an eye on Chinese military policy, and the best way to do so is to preserve arms sales contracts [5].

For its part, China has entered into open rivalry if not confrontation with the United States over Southeast Asia, arms sales to Taiwan, the value of its currency, and the six-party talks with Korea. Beijing see the progress of the United States’ reset policy with Russia, and appears eager to improve its ties with Moscow and resolve outstanding issues, among which include the issues of piracy and the lack of arms sales. China also clearly feels the need to continue acquiring foreign systems for those sectors where it has yet to create an adequate domestic base for its own production (OSC Analysis, FBIS SOV, December 3, 2010). As a result, at the most recent meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission in November 2010 the two sides signed a protocol for resumption of sales of spare parts, engines for aircrafts, naval and aerial weapons systems and the design of defensive products in the interests of the Chinese side. The two sides also established a working group to monitor developments growing out of the 2008 bilateral agreement on intellectual piracy (which has not stopped China from its ongoing "cloning" of Russian systems) [6]. According to Mikhail Dmitiriev, director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, the agreement "provides "the full picture of the contracts realization process and protects from unsanctioned capturing of our intellectual property," although China, he claimed has never transferred that property to a third country [7].

China is reportedly interested in buying at least 100 117-S aircraft engines (the upgraded version of the Al-31F engine intended for the SU-35 Fighter, the S-400 air defense missile, at least a 100 RD-93 engines, the existing Al-31F and Al-31FN engine for its existing Fighter component, consisting of SU-27s, SU-30s and its own J-10 (a knockoff of the Israeli Lavi Fighter). Russia has offered it New Ilyushin-476 military cargo planes, MI-171E Helicopters, and the SU-35 Fighter and the Irbis-e radar station. Meanwhile Rosoboroneksport, Russia’s designated arms seller, hopes to reach agreement with China on a formula for licensed arms production by Chinese firms of Russian arms that protects Russian intellectual property (Vedomosti Online, November 23, 2010; Interfax-AVN Online, November 16, 2010; Interfax-AVN Online, in English, November 18, 2010; ITAR-TASS, November 16, 2010; Interfax, November 15, 2010; RIA Novosti, November 16, 2010). In other words, Moscow has agreed again to offer China some of its most advanced systems despite prior misgivings about doing so. Yet, it is doubtful that the establishment of these mechanisms to oversee the proper enforcement of Russian intellectual property will be notably successful in preventing China from its long-standing and pervasive practices of copying Russian systems and selling them abroad after indigenizing them. Too many vested interest groups and long-standing practices are involved in this process for it to stop just to please Russia, although it is likely that some cosmetic efforts will be made for a while. In any case, Beijing has alternatives to Russia. For example, China is already exporting tanks made with Ukrainian engines and Ukraine will participate in the modernization of China’s Y-5 aircraft, probably not the last such occurrence either (ITAR-TASS, November 23, 2010).

These trends suggest that China remains, to some degree, dependent on Russia for the provision of advanced weapons and defense technologies, notably aircraft engines. This would also suggest a reason why Russian analysts profess not to be unduly alarmed at the unveiling of China’s fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighter. They apparently believe that despite the hoopla attached to this unveiling, that China will remain behind Russia and the US in aircraft technology for a long time even if it will try to compete with Russia once it starts selling the plane (RIA Novosti, December 29, 2010). It should be noted here as well that the Pentagon too has its doubts as to just how advanced the J-20’s technology is (Bloomberg, January 26). Meanwhile China also needs to ensure that Russia does not lean closer to Washington than it does to Beijing. On the other hand, Moscow wants to ensure that a Sino-American rapprochement does not occur at its expense and, more importantly, it still has no means of controlling what China does with its systems. Despite Moscow’s successes in selling arms to smaller countries like Algeria and Vietnam in the global arms market, Moscow still needs to be able to sell in large quantities to China. Furthermore, it needs a friendly China on its border even as there are growing signs of alarm in Russia about China’s economic and military prowess.

The strain in the bilateral arms sales and geopolitical tension between a rising China and declining Russia still remain. Yet for the time being the two sides appear to have reached a mutual accommodation. A close examination of the accords reached here, however, suggests that Russia really cannot control China and furthermore that it needs Chinese cooperation more than China does Russian cooperation. The overall turn in the relationship indicates China’ growing ability to induce Russian cooperation even as it infringes on Russian interests. This could lead to more tension if Russia strives to break free of Chinese power. While there may be an agreement for now, one should not be unduly complacent about it lasting for a long and, more importantly, untroubled time.

Notes:

1. Andrei Khazbiyev, "China Takes a Swing at the Sacred," Moscow, Ekspert, in Russian, May 24, 2004, Open Source Center, Foreign Broadcast information Service, Central Eurasia, May 24, 2004.
2. Andrei Chang, "SUKHOI General Manager Has Questions for China, "Toronto, Kanwa Intelligence Review online in English, November 20-30, 2010, FBIS SOV, November 20, 2010.
3. Andrei Chang, "Chinese Ship-to-Ship Missiles in he Middle East Area," Toronto, Kanwa Asian Defense Review Online, in English, October 1, 2010, FBIS SOV, October 25, 2010.
4. Andrei Chang, "China Recedes to 3rd Largest Export Market for Russian Arms," Toronto, Kanwa Intelligence Review Online, in English, November 20-30, 2010, FBIS SOV, November 21, 2010; "Prospect of Russian Arms in he Chinese Market in the Next 20 Years," Toronto, Kanwa Intelligence Review Online, in English, September 20-30, 2010, FBIS SOV, November 21, 2010.
5. "Reforma Flota Glavnaya Ugroza na Dalnem Vostoke," topwar.ru/2646-reforma-flota-glavnaya-ugroza-na-dalnem-vostoke.html, December 10, 2010.
6. "Results of Intergovernmental Committee’s meeting: Russia and China Have Good Prospects for Cooperation in Spheres of Naval Equipment and Air Defense Systems," www.navalshow.ru/eng/news/id/401, November 10, 2010.
7. "Intergovernmental Committees; Russia and China Have Good Prospects in Military Cooperation," www.rusnavy.comn/news/newsofday/index.php, November 10, 2010.

[vector7]

China and Russia Increasing the Speed of Military Modernization

Written by Diplomatic Courier

Tuesday, 17 May 2011 14:29

The Kremlin recently revealed that Moscow has pledged $640 billion in an effort to bring 80% of the Russian military establishment up to modern standards by 2020. Consequently, Vladimir Popovkin, deputy defense minister in charge of arms procurement, recently suggested to the media that the Russian defense ministry plans to buy around 600 airplanes and 1000 helicopters. He further stated that the Ministry was planning to fund the development of a “new liquid fuel heavy intercontinental ballistic missile to replace aging RS-18 Stilleto and RS-20 Satanâ€�. These missiles would be able to carry up to 10 warheads with solid fuel missiles each carrying a maximum of three warheads. It was further revealed that the Russian government plans to lend $24 billion to defense companies to help prepare for bigger contracts after 2015. Current trends in the foreign security and defense policies in Russia are driven primarily by Russia’s domestic development. This is based on a strong and sustained economic growth trajectory that has coincided with a tightly controlled structure which has led to the curtailing of democratic principles and reforms. It has been widely asserted that the system of power engendered by Vladimir Putin and continued under Medvedev does not provide for a smooth transition of power, but instead focuses on stability and predictability. The Russian leadership believes that military force is an essential component of the idea of restoring Russia’s status as a global superpower. Thus, the Russian government feels that it is necessary to show that the period of “degradation and shrinking of its armed forces is overâ€�. The trend is to allow investment decisions related to the productions, transportation and export of all energy sources to no longer be purely business matters, but an essential element of state control. This securitization implies that U.S. and other foreign companies cannot be allowed to execute major projects and can only be involved as minor partners or shareholders. Russia’s political trajectory would seem to create greater tensions with the West, given the inevitability of new energy wars based on control over key business decisions by the Kremlin and the desire of the Russian government to allow the prevalence of natural gas interests over petroleum and other energy sectors. Indeed, it has been widely speculated that Putin and Medvedev may be exploiting the leverage provided by oil and gas in order to build close personal ties with two key allies of the United States. These allies included Angela Merkel of Germany and Nicolas Sarkozy of France. For the first time, the People’s Republic of China has global economic interests complementing its global political interests and a widening national security agenda very similar to the Russian Federation. The ideological policies espoused by the Chinese government under Mao have been replaced by both economic and security driven policies. Objective pragmatic considerations of energy supply, international trade and investment, technology transfer, ports, and infrastructure development are an integral part of China’s overseas diplomatic objectives. While political considerations are important to both the Russian and Chinese governments, the Chinese government has allowed diplomacy to evolve into the promotion of an economic agenda as a way to build close personal ties and alliances within the global community. China is integrally involved in scientific and technological conferences, military visits/exchanges and programs, peacekeeping operations and bilateral and multilateral political activities. China is entering into a web of international activities which are unprecedented in its history and mirror the efforts of the United States at global diplomacy post World War II. If this pattern continues, China will fit squarely in the umbrella of interdependent nations for whom such contact is potentially disruptive and counterproductive. There are at least three implications of China’s military diplomacy for the United States. First, it has been alleged that as China becomes an increasingly strong superpower, economic incentives will clash with defense related concerns, having dangerous repercussions for United States interests. Thus, the debate over lifting the EU arms embargo becomes just the beginning of these types of discussions. Second, like Russia, China’s approach to military diplomacy is largely tied into its political agenda. When evaluating China’s military diplomacy, analysts must look at Beijing’s political agenda, which focuses on trade and economic development with the West. While this agenda establishes strong global ties between China and the West, it is possible that new ideas and technologies may create an increased level of mistrust and suspicion on both sides. Third, China’s military does conduct a comprehensive program of military diplomacy. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that China’s military activities, through economic development assistance, will likely become even more numerous as the country moves along the path of military modernization. Consequently, the more the United States and Russia can engage China in professional military exchanges, such as Track II dialogues and other joint military cooperation exercises, the better off Russia and the United States will be vis-Ã*-vis China. The demand for energy and other resources by Russia has increasingly stimulated the development of the Russian economy. Russia relies on NATO member states not to engage in any direct or indirect military plans or political statements, which might impair Russian interests. Therefore, it has sought to avoid any direct confrontation with NATO and is increasingly expanding its sphere of influence in Iran and the Caucasus as well as the Asia-Pacific region. Russia’s increased military spending and modernization require Russia to become active in building complex relations with all leading Asia-Pacific actors to the detriment of the United States. Considering the role and place of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region, one cannot help but to pay close attention to Russia’s participation in APEC in an effort to establish its military and economic dominance in the region. Since APEC is an important forum where meetings take place at the highest level among representatives of Russia, China Japan and the United States, it becomes increasingly likely that the economic and military objectives of Russia will merge as it is increasingly alleged that Russia seeks to expand its sphere of influence and possibly undermine U.S. strategic interests in the Pacific Rim. Both China and Russia are changing their policies and investing more financial resources in military modernization in an effort to complement their respective economic objectives and expand their sphere of influence in the global community. Both countries seek to expand political, military-political and economic cooperation towards the U.S. as well as to develop further strategic stability partnership. By. Ralph Winnie Source: Diplomatic Courier Copyright 2006-2010 The Diplomatic Courierâ„¢. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

[vector7]

10/04/2011 @ 4:45AM

More On The Bear And The Dragon

Jack Perkowski Contributor + Follow



As China and Russia enter their second decade of “good neighborliness and friendly cooperation,� the Sino-Russian relationship appears to be stronger than ever. Healthy relations at the top are now resulting in more commercial ties between Chinese and Russian companies.

As one of the world’s largest energy producers, Russia has turned to China as one of its key markets for oil and gas. In January 2011, a new oil pipeline between Russia’s East Siberia and Daqing in the north of China became operational. The pipeline is a joint project between PetroChina, China’s largest oil and gas producer, and Rosnef, Russia’s largest oil company, and is expected to transport at least 15 million tons of crude oil per year beginning this year.

For its part, China’s main exports to Russia consist of various types of equipment. For example, Russia has become an increasingly larger market for the cars and trucks produced by Chinese assemblers. To further penetrate the Russian market, Chery and Great Wall have both located car assembly plants in the country. In my former life, ASIMCO received numerous requests for quotes for parts from Russian truck and diesel engine makers, and our head of sales and marketing made several trips to Russia to follow-up. Before I left Beijing on Sunday for my flight to Moscow, I picked his brain for travel tips.

In May, Lou Jiwei, Chairman of China Investment Corporation (CIC), said that Chinese companies can find rich investment opportunities in Russia through the country’s planned direct investment fund and a new round of privatization. In order to minimize the risks, he suggested Chinese companies could seek opportunities through cooperation with Russian governmental institutions. Lou went on to say that CIC, a sovereign wealth fund responsible for managing part of China’s foreign exchange reserves, is willing to invest in Russia.

In 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev initiated the idea of creating a Direct Investments Fund, hoping the fund could raise $10 billion within five years and attract foreign capital. “The Direct Investments Fund could be a flexible way to attract foreign investment, which can help overseas investors to work together with the Russian government, to find and assess the projects they need in Russia,� Lou said.

In addition, Lou viewed as a positive step the fact that Russia has started the privatization of its oil sector, an industry that used to be fully monopolized. As for CIC, Lou said the company’s potential portfolio in Russia is likely to include stocks and bonds, commodities, infrastructure and real estate projects to reduce investment risks by diversification.
With cooperation at the top, increasing bilateral trade, investment interest by China’s sovereign wealth fund, and the ability to settle trades using renminbi and rubles, the economic relationship between China and Russia will only get stronger in the years ahead.

[vector7]

United: Russia and China a new dimension

permalink email story to a friend print version
Published: 11 October, 2011, 21:04
Edited: 12 October, 2011, 16:57

RIA Novosti / Aleksey Druzhinin



Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that cooperation between Russia and China has reached an unprecedented level and become a major factor in international politics.

Speaking at an interview with the Chinese state television CCTV, Putin hailed the strengthening ties between Russia and China.

“We have brought the relations between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China to a very high level – to the level that has not been reached before,“ Putin said. “And first of all we have reached a very high level of trust in the political sphere.”

Read the full transcript

The Russian prime minister added that this makes the Russia-China bilateral relations a very important factor in the international political arena.

“We have learned to move in consolidation while protecting our rightful interests,” Putin said.

The Russian PM went on to describe the success in economic cooperation between the two nations, mentioning the research and production spheres, as well as the humanitarian field.

Putin said that while the cooperation amounted to $55.9 billion in the best of pre-crisis years and in 2011 it will reach $70 billion or even $80 billion. He also expressed hope that the two countries would reach the $100 billion level by 2015 and the $200 billion level by 2020.

When asked if his journey had any special meaning for him, Putin said that the Russian-Chinese relationship was multisided, with energy cooperation just one side of many in the relations between the two countries.

“Our cooperation is multisided and it is getting even further diversified,” he pointed out. “I believe that hi-tech cooperation – not only in traditional fields and machine building, but also in aviation and aircraft building – should, of course, be our priority.”

Russia and China definitely have common national interests in this area, he added.

“In order to gain a rightful place on the global markets, we should join efforts in, let’s say, the creation of wide-body aircraft. We should unite our technological and financial abilities,” Putin said.

The Russian premier went on to mention other fields for cooperation, such as nanotechnology, IT, and medicine.

As to energy, there are various offers from both sides, and not just the planned gas supplies to China, Putin said. This includes joint development and production of hydrocarbons in, for example, Russia’s Udmurt Republic.

It could also include possible future work on the “Sakhalin-3” project in the Far East and “Magadan-1” located on the shelf under the Sea of Okhotsk.

Putin also touched upon the long-discussed issue of natural gas supplies to China via eastern and western routes, which “our Chinese friends see as a priority of the first stage,” he noted.

The subject of cost was naturally raised. “Pricing is certainly an essential issue here,” Putin observed, recalling that earlier in the day, during his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, he said that “Those who sell want to sell at a higher price, and those who buy want to buy cheaper”.

Yet he was quick to point out that trade is job of managers of business entities, rather than an issue to be decided on the political level.“And I think that they will find a fair solution to this question, which would be mutually beneficial for both China and Russia,” Putin concluded.

When a reporter asked the Russian PM on how he saw the Russia-China cooperation in the building of the new world order or the reform of the existing international economic system, Putin said that the creation of the new world order and the reform of the existing one were very different things. He stressed that joining forces to promote the reform of the existing structures was of primary importance and first of all the global financial structures such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Putin said that that all BRICS countries should play a major role in these reforms as the economies of the BRICS countries are gaining more importance.

Putin stressed that the international society must pay more attention to the real sector and limit the speculations and in this regard China and Russia and other BRICS nations san play a positive role in the stabilization of the global economy.

*Speaking of the current debt crisis in Europe, Putin said that it was possible to overcome it, but this needed political courage from the leaders of the European countries. But in the final analysis, overcoming this grave challenge would benefit all of Europe, he noted.

Turning to the situation with the US economy, Putin said that his views on the subject were not unique, but were shared by European experts, government ministers and heads of financial structures. He said that the US authorities were right to buy government bonds and thus simply print money, but any financial policy must have its limits.

The Russian PM noted that the US financial authorities were doing the exact thing they advised against when it came to Russia and other countries.

Putin denied ever calling the United States “a parasite of the World economy,” but insisted that the US was benefiting from the monopoly created by the dollar being the international reserve currency. The Russian Prime Minister said that such situation was both good and bad for the United States, as well as for other nations alike. He went on to suggest searching for multilateral solutions for the existing problems.

“There is nothing to cheer here, we simply need to get together – with our European and American colleagues and the BRICS countries and think within the G20 framework how to get out of this situation together. We need to look for common coordinated solutions,” Putin said.

“In the condition of globalization, we are all in one boat to a certain extent and you need to be careful not to start taking water on, to prevent the boat from capsizing,” he said.

[vector7]

China calls for enhanced cooperation with Russia on strategic security

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev (L) in Beijing, capital of China on Oct. 20, 2011. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Vice President Xi Jinping has said China is willing to cooperate with Russia on strategic security matters, and that the two nations should work more closely on bilateral and multilateral issues.

Xi made the remarks on Thursday in his meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, according to a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday.

China will work more closely with Russia in order to strengthen communication and coordination on regional and international issues, Xi said.

Patrushev is in Beijing to co-chair the sixth round of China-Russia strategic security talks with Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

Xi spoke highly of the contribution made by the China-Russia strategic security talks in boosting bilateral political mutual trust and strategic coordination, calling on the two sides to step up strategic coordination in a bid to better safeguard the common interests of the two nations and promote peace and stability in the world.

Citing the significant and profound transition of the international situation, Xi said the two nations face opportunities as well as challenges in maintaining a strategically secure environment for their own development.

On bilateral relations, Xi said China always prioritizes its relations with Russia in the country's foreign policy. He expressed China's willingness to make concerted efforts with Russia to push forward bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, energy, science and technology fields.

Russia was highly satisfied with the current development of the bilateral ties, Patrushev said, proposing the two sides should strengthen strategic communication, expand mutual trust and cement coordination in multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

China-Russia strategic security talks were initiated by leaders of the two countries in 2005.

[vector7]

When China, Russia Cosy Up

By John K. Yi

October 19, 2011


There’s been much discussion of the signing this month of the ‘Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Memorandum on Cooperation in Modernization of the Economy.’ This agreement is just one of a string of recent cooperation arrangements between Moscow and Beijing. But what makes this one notable is the seemingly intentional mirroring of last year’s Russia-EU ‘Partnership for Modernization’ memorandum. With that earlier agreement apparently going nowhere, it looks like Russia really might be looking eastward. But what does that mean for Moscow’s relations with the United States?

Though it may be tempting to see the warming of Russia-China relations as a distraction and detriment to US-Russia relations, this view overlooks some major hurdles facing Beijing and Moscow. With its surging economy and powerful position as the United States’ analogue in the East, China may seem like a natural partner to Russia, but there are three fundamental issues standing in the way of a ground-breaking partnership.

First, energy is – and will continue to – serve as the foundation of Russia-China economic ties, making the diversification of trade a long and difficult process. It’s a reality that the Kremlin has become all too familiar with over a decade. Trade between the two nations – which, according to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, will hit $70 billion this year – remains defined by energy. Even if both governments pursue diversification in the fields listed in the recent memorandum – China is to assist Russia in areas like high-speed rail network, shipbuilding, and alternative energy – this won’t in the near future serve as the foundation for sustainable economic integration. These projects involve high-level cooperation between some of the largest Russian and Chinese firms and thus face significant logistical difficulties (such as Russia’s notorious bureaucracy) and political difficulties, as was demonstrated with recent gas pricing disagreements.

Second, there’s a fundamental inequality between the two trading partners in terms of energy trade. Steering the negotiations is China, which doesn’t necessarily need Russia to fulfil its energy needs. Indeed, in recent years, China has looked beyond Russia to other gas producers in the Middle East and Central Asia (another point of contention, since Russia considers Central Asia a privileged sphere of influence). On the other hand, China is the only nation that serves as a major client for Russia, outside of Europe.

Such an unbalanced relationship promises trouble for Moscow, and the recent foot dragging over a gas deal between the two indicates that the energy trade relationship isn’t exactly mutually beneficial.

And, despite all of the meetings and agreements between the two nations, Russia still views China as a potential future enemy. Once lucrative Russia-Chinese military trade has all but disappeared. Many of Russia’s military technologies, which have fed China’s military industrial complex, were refitted and undercut Russia’s military sales abroad. Further exacerbating the problem is the overwhelming Chinese presence in the sparsely populated Russian Far East (RFE), which many have described as the basis for a Chinese takeover of the area. Chinese investors have invested nearly $3 billion in the RFE, three times the amount the Russian federal government has invested there. Even the Kremlin has acknowledged this disparity of influence, and has expressed the need to partner with China to cooperatively develop the RFE. But Chinese investors have yet to indicate any significant desire to invest in Russian enterprises or RFE’s infrastructure.

Ultimately, history offers ample evidence that appearances of major realignments are often deceptive – especially when economic and political realities set in. Indeed, the 1996 birth of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which many described as the launch of a Russia-China anti-US bloc, has done little to alter global economic or political realities.

Closer cooperation between Russia and China may still complicate Russia-US relations, and it undoubtedly offers the Kremlin a new array of foreign policy tools. But although policy makers in Washington will no doubt keep a wary eye on any Russian attempt to play the US off against China, for now at least, the cosying up of the two is no cause for alarm.