Deepening Sino/Russian Ties

by Stephen Lendman

Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow for the May 9 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe commemorations signifies deepening ties between both nations.

Xi invited Putin to Beijing for September 3 end of WW II celebratory events.

"During those years, China was the main front of World War II in Asia, and during the time of war, a solid combat friendship was formed between our peoples," Xi told Putin.

China's leader "wholeheartedly invite(d) (his Russian counterpart) to participate in these ceremonies."

On May 8, Putin said "(t)omorrow with other world leaders we will take part in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the (Soviet) victory in World War II, and in September in Beijing we will mark the end of the World War II."

"We will commemorate those who stood side by side against the militaristic Japan."

Xi responded saying September commemorations in Beijing will "honor the memory of the lost heroes" - to highlight the importance of "not allow(ing) the tragic history of that war to repeat, to create world peace together."

"The hard lessons of World War II say that coexistence of humanity is not ruled by the law of the jungle."

"The politics of peace is the exact opposite of the aggressive hegemonic politics of force."

"The path of human development does not lie in the principle (of) 'winner takes it all,' not in zero-sum games."

Both leaders adopted a joint declaration on deepening strategically important/mutually beneficial ties.

A separate joint declaration involves cooperating on Eurasian Economic Union and Silk Road Economic Belt development.

Various bilateral agreement documents were signed. They include:

• reciprocal operation of the Chinese BeiDou and Russian navigation systems;

• data exchange cooperation from remote earth probes;

• development of a state-of-the-art heavy helicopter;

• assuring international information security;

• financing the Moscow-Kazan high-speed rail link, the Moscow-Beijing Eurasian high-speed transport corridor, and a railway linking Elegest, Kyzyl and Kuragino to the far east;

• expanding Chinese banking/financial relations with Russian companies;

• avoiding double taxation;

• credit lines between China's Development Bank, its Export-Import Bank and Russia's Sberbank;

• agreement between Russia's Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation on basic conditions for supplying Beijing with gas via the western route;

• a Polyus Zoloto and China National Gold Group Corporation  joint agreement;

• promoting Russia's Sukhoi Superjet-100 to potential Chinese customers;

• strategic cooperation between Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation;

• a joint venture between Rosseti and China's State Grid Corporation on electricity grid projects;

• cooperation between RusHydro and the Three Gorges Corporation;

• Vnesheconombank and China Development Bank joint far east development projects;

• VTB Bank, Chinese export credit insurance corporation Sinosure and China Development Bank trade financing between both countries with an initial three billion yuan credit line;

• establishment of Russia's MTS and China Development Bank $200 million credit line in yuan and rubles;

• a Usinsky field project to produce electrolytic metallic manganese needed for special steels;

• bilateral cooperation in timber, trade, finance and other investments;

• increased ties between Roselektronika and ZTE Corporation;

• cooperation between Yug Energo and China Export-Import Bank and China National Chemical Engineering Company; and

• a memorandum of intention on science and technology cooperation between United Shipbuilding Corporation and Huawei Technologies.

Last May, Russia and China agreed on Gazprom supplying Beijing with about $400 billion of natural gas for 30 years - a historic deal by any standard. Potentially it could double in size depending on China's needs.

Stronger economic and financial ties were established - increasingly in their own currencies, bypassing dollar transactions.

Other increased trade deals were agreed on at the same time - in technological, industrial, commercial and military sectors.

Current, past, and certain future agreements signify increasing Sino/Russian ties benefitting both nations enormously.

Together they're a powerful political, economic and military alliance against destructive US hegemonic ambitions.

Putin said integrating the post-Soviet Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and China's Silk Road project establishes greater regional common economic space.

Both initiatives "harmoniously supplement each other," he explained. EEU currently includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia.

China's Silk Road project plans construction of a transport, energy and trade corridor between Europe and Asia.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Beijing's project economically and geopolitically impressive.

"It's a very interesting, new, strategic substance of our bilateral relations," he explained.

Mutual cooperation benefits both nations politically, economically, militarily and strategically.

Their stronger ties reflect unity against humanity threatening US imperial adventurism - reckless enough to threaten life on earth.

A Final Comment

On V-Day, Putin said victory over fascism will "forever remain the heroic apex in the history of our country. But we also remember our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition."

"We are grateful to the people of the United Kingdom, France and the United States for their contribution."

He addressed current threats to world peace and security saying "(w)e have witnessed attempts of organizing of a unipolar world."

"We can see how the force bloc-based thinking has been gaining power. That all is undermining the stable international development."

"Our common task should be offering equal-security system for all countries, which is adequate to modern threats, and which is based on regional, global, bloc-free basis. Only then will we be able to ensure peace and tranquility on the planet."

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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