![China's President Xi Jinping, second left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, second right, making bliny [Russian pancakes] as they visit the Far East Street exhibition on the sidelines of the 2018 Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Sept 11, 2018. Photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office handout / Anadolu Agency](https://i0.wp.com/asiatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Putin-pancakes.jpg?fit=1200%2C740&ssl=1)
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin were involved in a joint cooking venture. Pancakes with caviar (blin, in Russian), chased down with a shot of vodka. It just happened at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Talk about a graphic (and edible) metaphor sealing the ever-evolving ‘Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership’.
For a few years now the Vladivostok forum has been offering an unequaled roadmap tracking progress on Eurasia integration.
Last year, on the sidelines of the forum, Moscow and Seoul delivered a bombshell: a trilateral trade platform, crucially integrating Pyongyang, revolving around a connectivity corridor between the whole Korean peninsula and the Russian Far East.
Roundtable topics this year included integration of the Russian Far East into Eurasian logistic chains; once again the Russian link-up with the Koreas – aiming to build a Trans-Korean railway connected to the Trans-Siberian and a “Pipelineistan” branch-out into South Korea via China. Other topics were the Russia-Japan partnership in terms of Eurasian transit, centering on the link-up of the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) upgrades to a projected railway to the island of Sakhalin, and then all the way to the island of Hokkaido.
The future: Tokyo to London, seamlessly, by train.
Then there was integration between Russia and ASEAN – beyond current infrastructure, agricultural, and shipbuilding projects to energy, agro-industry sector and forestry, as outlined by Ivan Polyakov, chairman of the Russia-ASEAN Business Council.
Essentially this is all about the simultaneous build-up of a growing East-West and also North-South axis. Russia, China, Japan, the Koreas and Vietnam, slowly but surely, are on their way to solid geoeconomic integration.
Arguably the most fascinating discussion in Vladivostok was Crossroads on the Silk Road, featuring, among others, Sergey Gorkov, Russian deputy minister of economic development; Wang Yilin, chairman of China’s oil giant CNPC, and Zhou Xiaochun, vice-chairman of the board of directors of the essential Boao Forum.
Moscow’s drive is to link the New Silk Roads or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Yet the ultimate geoeconomic target is even more ambitious; a “Greater Eurasian partnership”, where BRI converges with the EAEU, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and ASEAN. At its core lies the Russia-China strategic partnership.
The roadmap ahead, of course, involves striking the right chords in a complex balance of political interests and management practices amid multiple East-West projects. Cultural symbiosis has to be part of the picture. The Russia-China partnership is increasingly inclined to reason in go (weiqi, the game) terms, a shared vision based on universal strategic principles.
Another key discussion in Vladivostok featured Fyodor Lukyanov, research director at the always essential Valdai Discussion Club, and Lanxin Xiang, director of the Centre of One Belt and One Road Studies at the China National Institute for SCO International Exchange. That centered on the geopolitics of Asian interaction, involving key BRICS members Russia, China and India, and how Russia might be able to capitalize on it while navigating the harrowing sanctions and trade war swamp.
All power from Siberia
It all comes back to the basics and the evolving Russia-China strategic partnership. Xi and Putin are implicated to the core. Xi defines the partnership as the best mechanism to “jointly neutralize the external risks and challenges”. For Putin, “our relations are crucial, not only for our countries, but for the world as well.” It’s the first time ever that a Chinese leader has joined the Vladivostok discussions.
China is progressively interconnecting with the Russian Far East. International transport corridors – Primorye 1 and Primorye 2 – will boost cargo transit between Vladivostok and northeast China. Gazprom is about to complete the Russian stretch of the massive Power of Siberia gas pipeline to China, in agreement with CNPC. Over 2,000 kilometers of pipes have been welded and laid from Yakutia to the Russian-Chinese border. Power of Siberia starts operating in December 2019.
According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the partnership is evaluating 73 investment projects worth more than $100 billion. The overseer is the Russian-Chinese Business Advisory Committee, including more than 150 executives from leading Russian and Chinese companies. The CEO of RDIF, Kirill Dmitriev, is convinced “particularly promising transactions will be found in bilateral deals that capitalize on the Russia-China relationship.”
In Vladivostok, Putin and Xi once again agreed to keep increasing bilateral trade on yuan and rubles, bypassing the US dollar – building upon a mutual decision in June to increase the number of yuan-ruble contracts. In parallel, Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin advised Russians to sell US dollars and buy rubles.
Moscow expects the ruble to appreciate to around 64 per US dollar next year. It’s currently trading at around 70 rubles against the dollar, dragged down by US sanctions and the dollar weaponization wreaking havoc in BRICS members Brazil, India and South Africa, as well as potential BRICS Plus states such as Turkey and Indonesia.
Putin and Xi once again reaffirmed they will continue to work in tandem on their inter-Korean roadmap based on “dual freeze” – North Korea suspends nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches while the US suspends military drills with Seoul.
But what really seems to be capturing the imagination of the Koreas is the Trans-Korean railway. Kim Chang-sik, head of railway development in Pyongyang said: “We will further develop this project on the basis of negotiations between Russia, North Korea and South Korea, so that the owners of this project will be the countries of the Korean peninsula.”
That connects to what South Korean President Moon Jae-in said only three months ago: “Once the Trans-Korean main line is built, it may be connected to the Trans-Siberian Railway. In this case, it would be possible to deliver goods from South Korea to Europe, which would be economically beneficial not only to South and North Korea, but to Russia as well.”
Understanding the matryoshka
Contrary to misinformed or manipulated Western hysteria, the current Vostok war games in the Russian Far East’s Trans-Baikal, including 3,000 Chinese troops, are just a section of the much deeper, complex Russia-China strategic partnership. This is all about a matryoshka: the war game is a doll inside the geoeconomic game.
In ‘China and Russia: The New Rapprochement’, Alexander Lukin, from the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow, lays down the roadmap in detail; the evolving, Eurasia-wide economic partnership is part of a much larger, comprehensive concept of “Greater Eurasia”. This is the core of the Russia-China entente, leading to what political scientist Sergey Karaganov has dubbed, “a common space for economic, logistic and information cooperation, peace and security from Shanghai to Lisbon and from New Delhi to Murmansk.”
Without understanding the Big Picture enveloping debates such as the annual gathering in Vladivostok, it’s impossible to understand how the progressive integration of BRI, EAEU, SCO, ASEAN, BRICS and BRICS Plus is bound to irreversibly change the current world-system.
Historically, Asia (India+China) produced 2/3 of world’s wealth. The rest of the world the remaining 1/3.
The rise of the Corporate Capitalist West was a fluke of history, made possible by Kaliphate stupidity, that sitting smack in the middle of the Silk Road milked world trade with Tariffs, decimating both Asia and Europe till they found new route bypassing them.
That is why both Europe and Asia with the help of Iran have mercilessly cleaned the middle East of Kaliphate-lovers to prevent an Encore.
Things will go back to as they were or better as BRI integrates Asia with Europe and Africa. Russia integration is just the first step.
I point out to my fellow Indians that Russia is not a serious alternative as an ally compared to the USA. Russa has only half the GDP of India and only one tenth of the population of China. Russia is totally dependent on China economically and has said openly that she can never help India if China attacks her. Russia today is ruled by a gangster regime sworn to a white fascist ideology. Russia today is no good at all as an ally for India.
" This is the core of the Russia-China entente, leading to what political scientist Sergey Karaganov has dubbed, “a common space for economic, logistic and information cooperation, peace and security from Shanghai to Lisbon and from New Delhi to Murmansk.”
Add Washington to that list as India has just signed a military alliance treaty with the USA.
Meanwhile Putin is funding and propagandising for neo-Nazi movements in europe.
Sour grapes?!
Bad idea.
Nonsense.
This is a post about friendship between a new Christian Russia and a rational Confucianist China who aim at world peace.
Why are our Indian friends throwing dirt on this wonderful venture?
The tactical brilliance of our Indian friends is far exceeded by their blindness in strategy. They always chose the wrong path, and then ran fast on it.
Their 40 years investment in USSR paid them zilch, a big fat Zero (that they claim to have invented lol). Now, they go to bed with US, a dying power hated by 9/10th of globe, and its administration by 2/3 of its own people who rips international agreements with friends and foes alike – Canada, Mexico, Asia, Iran. India will lose its shirt.
In contrast, Pakistanis have always been the socio-economics trend setter and flag bearers in South Asia. Neighbour India peeps into our living rooms, and apes it, but always comes bit too little too late – some 50 years behind Pakistan.
Here are some Pak firsts:
1. Free Enterprise – Pakistan 1947, India 2000
2. Free Trade – Pakistan 1947, India 2000
3. Alliance with the West – Pakistan 1950, India 2000
4. Friendship with China – Pakistan 1960, India 202?
5. Distancing from Socialism – Pakistan 1947, India 1990
6. Distancing from dying Corporate Capitalist West – Pakistan 2000, India 2050?
7. Theocratization: Pakistan 1977 with Zia, India 2014 with Modi.
8. BRI/New Silk Road Pakistan 2013, India never?
Lament for a people who could be great if they shun their anti-human race based Caste System where the whites are great and darkies are not, and by not defecating in public like animals. Once they become civilized, then they could participate in the Dialogue of Civilization that Xi is proposing.
Life is about CHANGE———once the Korean "Peninsula situation is resolved it will be a "CONSTRUCTION BOOM" to put North Korea back together the door for the interested investor——-the coming peace with the Hermit Kingdom will send the South Korean economy (which has been stagnant since Park’s election and even though Moon has replaced her—–limps along) through the roof——from Putin to Xi to Moon——all realize the importance of the total hook up of rail carring finished goods, pipes carrying natural gas and everything else that makes the world go round———get ready ladies and gentlemen ———for the Pacific Rim EXPLOSION——–if Japan is smart they will jump on board——–because the train is leaving the station——–with are without them. As usual Pepe ( a real journalistic not a FAKER———like so many on Asia Times) has hit the ball out of the PARK!!
THE DRAGON AND THE BEAR GIVE HANDS ON GOOD FIGHT AGAINST THE INSIDIOUS AND INJURIOUS SLAVEING UNCLE SAM YANKEE OF THE RAPEOUS TEA PARTY ..
Didn’t the Supreme Court of India just approve Gay sex? How can anyone take anything & India says when they are playing BOTH SIDES of the FENCE?? Hahahahaa rock bangers!!
The Indians are too busy humping cows to care. Go bang a rock. Islam was the best thing that ever happened to ya.
Russia is not ruled by a "white fascist regime". Nor is it "totally dependent on China economically."
Somebody gets his information about Russia straight from Marvel Comics.
Fernando Martinez
Right on. And Christianity too.
For 800 years Muslims tried to civilize Indians but failed.
The Christians for 200. They failed too.
The still have dreaded racist cast system, and defecate like animals in the open. What more can we do?
Fernando Martinez
"BOTH SIDES". LOL
Maria Turner
Raining as usual in your Moscow dump, I bet. It must be a hard life being a tool for RasPutin. You Russians have gone from Stalinism to Nazism. You are suckers for poisonous ideologies. Lenin was the last good ruler you had. We Indians want nothing to do with a white fascist Russia. Russia is indeed a grape that has gone very sour indeed. China is welcome to it.
Fernando Martinez
You Russians have gone from Stalinism to Nazism. You are suckers for poisonous ideologies. Lenin was the last good ruler you had. We Indians want nothing to do with a white fascist Russia.
Maria Turner
You clearly don’t read the French and German newspapers or even Sputnik News constantly praising neo-Nazis in Europe.
More incoherant nonsense. Considering the Russ are recent invaders into Siberia, about the same time and mentality of the British conquest of N America. Exploit the land, get rid of the natives. And like Aus, it was done with criminals.
Apart from arms in the Cold War, what did India get from Russia, nothing. What did Pakistain get from the US nothing.
What will Pakistain get from Russia & China…. nothing.
China is not Confucian,it’s communist, a western philosphy. Russia is, well it’s Russia.
Actually Ganpatt, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (aka Lenin) was also a crazed meglomaniac. Maybe go back to Catherine the Great (a German) or the Vikings for the last good rulers of Russland.
Ralph De Souza Filho
No need to be upset. Leave this low caste alone.
He seeks attention. All he wants is to provoke someone. I bet this character is sitting in a basement hellhole in a seedy part of whiteland.
Do not drop to his level. I simply ignore him.
The US does the same, in case you haven’t noticed.
Yashad Rizvi
No. Lenin had some great ideals.
Quite an interesting viewpoint. In many ways the ME has exhibited rent seeking activities to this day. Sucking up productivity with their disastrous hold on energy supplies. Couple this with political instability and the risk premium to conducting commerce shoots up.
This will be the new world order, and it should be.
ANY MOVEMENT BY RUSSIA AND CHINA TO UNITE ADDING IN ASSIAN COUNTRIES THAT WILL COOPERATE. TO TWART THE HEGEMONY OF THE CRIMINAL U.S IS GREAT NEWS. PRESIDENTS PUTIN AND XI ARE FUTURIST NOT DUMB ZIONIST ISRAELI AGENDA AMERICANS .
No wonder the Neo-Cons are going berserk. All of this foreshadows the shift of World power away from the U.S. unipolar plan and spells doom to the bankrupt U.S. empire. The "Great Game" will finally be won and not by those who thought they would win it.
India is always fritisch colony and will rest as a britisch coloniein mind
Good one – but does not mention the significance of China, Japan, Korea all participating in the Russian Vladivistok meeting ….