In a recently-translated December 2022 speech given by Dr. Feng Yujun, Director at the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies at the Fudan University in Shanghai, Feng said that China’s relations with Russia “are currently at their best in history.”
Historic Bad Luck
Feng said that Chinese political philosopher Lin Zexu had predicted in 1850 that Russia “would be a great trouble for China in the future”.
Citing “incomplete statistics,” Feng said that between 1860 to 1945 Russia caused China to lose 3.25 million square kilometres of land. “In modern times, the biggest threat China’s national security had faced was also from Russia,” he said.
He further noted that in history, the three alliances between the two had “ended with China paying a heavy price, and Russia benefiting greatly.” Furthermore, he said that the Soviet Union had forced China into the Korean War, which did not just lead to the loss of the lives of countless Chinese soldiers, “but also severely kneecapped China-US relations, making it difficult for China to prosper for the next several decades.”
As for cultural exchanges between China and Russia, it has been predominantly a one-way flow from Russia to China. Some scholars have summarized that "Chinese literature has become a student of Russian literature, losing its self-esteem and confidence, and bowing down to the
— Zichen Wang (@ZichenWanghere) March 15, 2023
Feng added that China’s “political system, economic system, military culture, ideology, and many other aspects were all built following the Soviet model,” which has been “continuously affecting China’s modernisation process.”
Current Relations
Feng said that some believed that the two powers’ relations “are currently at their best in history,” which has two main reasons:
- As long as the “golden rule” of “non-alliance, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of any third party” established in the 2001 Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the two countries is upheld, there will be “no major deviations” in relations.
- After 40 years of reform and opening up, China’s “comprehensive national strength has far surpassed Russia, making it difficult for Russians to exert various influences over China with the same kind of superiority as before.”
"Understanding Russia can begin with examining its relationship with China...Back in 1850, Lin Zexu cautioned that Russia “would be a great trouble for China in the future”. According to incomplete statistics, from 1860 to 1945, Russia caused China to lose 3.25 million square
— Zichen Wang (@ZichenWanghere) March 15, 2023
China as Russia’s “Little Brother”
Feng said that when it comes to diplomacy, China is basically “still a little brother who follows Russia’s orders” and that China’s closeness with Russia has “brought many unexpected negative effects” during complex international situations.
“China must realise that Russians are waging a fierce information and psychological warfare against China.”
US-China Relations Suffering Due to Russia
Feng went on to say that there exists “an imbalance between costs and benefits” in their relationship, which has resulted in Beijing paying “too much both economically and politically, without achieving the expected results of improving China’s international stance or easing the US pressure on China.”
"After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China’s political system, economic system, military culture, ideology, and many other aspects were all built following the Soviet model, and it has been continuously affecting China's modernization process."
— Zichen Wang (@ZichenWanghere) March 15, 2023
Stressing that the “weakest party” in the trilateral relationship between China, the US, and Russia will always benefit the most, Feng noted that in the past, when China was the weakest, it aligned with the US to counter the Soviet Union, which was beneficial for China.
However, as Russia is the weakest link today, it has successfully mobilised the conflicts” between China and the US “for its own gain.”
Feng recommended that China should pursue “a long-term neighbourly and friendly partnership” with Russia while maintaining “a constructive partnership” with the US, as China-US relations will “determine China’s overall international stance in the future.”