On September 16-17, 2023, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a meeting with Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to US President Joe Biden. [i] It was later reported that Wang traveled to Russia for security talks.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that Wang Yi will be in Moscow from September 18-21, 2023 for a round of China-Russia strategic security consultations[ii] In this framework, it can be argued that China and Russia aim to send a message of unity against the West.
During this trip, both countries are expected to pledge deeper mutual political trust and prepare for a possible visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing in October. According to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Minister Wang Yi will meet with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev for the annual security talks. It also said that Wang’s talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov would cover a “wide range of issues”, including “higher and high-level contacts” . [iii]
The US and China have a serious disagreement over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China avoids taking sides in the war, saying that a country’s territory must be respected, but that the West must also take into account Russia’s security concerns about NATO expansion.
On the other hand, China and Russia have grown closer in recent years due to the deterioration of their relations with the West. Although these two states may appear as geopolitical rivals in the long run, in the short run they are in a rapprochement over “anti-Westernism” in their foreign policy-making processes. It can be argued that China is working to make the international order fairer.
In this context, China supported Moscow at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, thinking that Russia would weaken the West with a quick victory. However, things did not go as planned on the ground and the war further consolidated the West. This led China to change its perspective on the war.
Nevertheless, the two actors managed to build an alliance on the basis of “anti-Westernism”.Both the regional power struggle due to the US strategy of containment of China and the unity between Russia and China on the basis of “anti-Westernism” open the door for Moscow to improve its ties with Beijing and to have more say in developments in the Asia-Pacific region.
On the other hand, it is known that the situation in Ukraine was discussed in Wang’s talks with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan over the weekend. Both sides are seeking to stabilize their difficult relationship and manage differences over security, trade, technology and human rights. Both sides have characterized these talks as cordial, robust and constructive . [iv]
As a result, Moscow and Beijing are trying to show that they will pursue joint strategies against the West. Moreover, Russia wants to show that while it is fighting Ukraine on its western border, it is also interested in the events in the east. Therefore, Moscow may want to send a message to the world that things are going well in the war in Ukraine.
[i] “China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi Heads to Moscow After Meeting US National Security Adviser”, Associated Press News, https://apnews.com/article/china-russia-wang-yi-a250e836c006543abcf7f517ccdc8937, (Erişim Tarihi: 18.09.2023).
[ii] “China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi Heads to Moscow After Meeting US Official”, ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/chinas-foreign-minister-wang-yi-heads-moscow-after-103271239, (Erişim Tarihi: 18.09.2023).
[iii] “China’s Wang Yi Visits Russia Ahead of Possible Xi-Putin Meeting”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/chinas-wang-yi-visits-russia-ahead-possible-xi-putin-meeting-2023-09-18/, (Erişim Tarihi: 18.09.2023).
[iv] “China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi Heads to Moscow After Meeting US National Security Adviser”, Associated Press News, https://apnews.com/article/china-russia-wang-yi-a250e836c006543abcf7f517ccdc8937, (Erişim Tarihi: 18.09.2023).
