Putin’s visit to China is a synchronization of watches between two strategic allies: Movses Ghazaryan

Movses Ghazaryan, a political analyst, commented to Alpha News on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China.

“Vladimir Putin’s visit to China is quite remarkable for a whole range of circumstances and factors. The first is that, compared, for example, to Donald Trump’s visit, this is a more comprehensive visit, a genuine synchronization of watches between strategic allies and partners on both bilateral and multilateral agendas, with the multilateral agenda being no less substantive and relevant for the countries than the bilateral one. The second is that we are witnessing a strengthening of the strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on matters of international relations, and this partnership does not imply that one side will be absorbed by the other; rather, political levers will offset the imbalance in development and potential between the two countries across economic and other dimensions,” the Alpha News interlocutor stressed.

In Ghazaryan’s view, the interaction between Russia and China is grounded in the equal standing of the two countries’ relationship.

“I think one should proceed from the assumption that China, in a situation of mounting economic and political pressure, will, so to speak, lend Moscow its shoulder, but again, this will not take the form of Russia becoming a kind of appendage. At the political level, it has, in my view, been very firmly established that the countries retain a certain degree of autonomy and their own sphere of interests. The fourth aspect is also significant, which is Russia’s positioning. Yes, Russia is deepening its engagement with the PRC and with Asia as a whole. One should expect Russia to become more active in various international, regional, and economic projects linked to the Global South, but even this will not imply Russia’s absorption, that is, Russia will maintain its positioning as a country open to cooperation and partnership with the Western community, while also having a foothold within the Global South and Asia as a whole, both in the form of the PRC and in the form of other countries of that informal community,” the political analyst believes.