Are China and Russia cooperating to create a new world order? The theory that is gaining more and more force

China And Russia They are great allies. This is what they have shown the world in recent times: the Asian giant has remained firmly on the side of the Kremlin, despite the outbreak of a brutal war against Ukraine.

“Changes are happening that were unprecedented 100 years ago and we are the ones driving them together. » » declared Xi Jinping, President of China, to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow.

These two men plan to “reshape the world”. This is the thesis presented in a report by Deutsche Welle that, with the opinion of different analysts, explained the explanation of the close ties between China and Russia and explains how none of these powers could be what they are today without collaborating together.

To date, the global scenario is complicated. Since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, tensions have gripped countries around the world and signs have already been given that problems between nations could lead to a massive war. “Times full of threats. »

This is why, according to DW, Relations between China and Russia could define the future of the world.

Media reports said China, Russia and their partners have been conducting air and sea “military exercises” in eastern Russia for several years, which “go beyond military maneuvers to link Russian and Chinese operations.” .

These would follow the course of youA road map for military cooperation signed by the defense ministers of the two countries.

“The Chinese military has benefited greatly from Russian military imports since the 1990s,” he said. Zhou Bo retired colonel of the Chinese People’s Army. “Today, China’s military is growing strongly, but without Russia’s decades-long help and our own efforts, it would not be as strong as it is today. »

This relationship would have been recomposed – after the collapse of the Cold War – when they realized that it was more practical for them both to be strategic allies, rather than eternal enemies, since both had ‘a great power.

“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia became China’s main supplier of military equipment. » explain Alexandre Gabouev , Russian expert on Chinese affairs. He added that the Asian country “took advantage” of Moscow and made significant investments, which also kept Russia on its feet, while it was going through an economic crisis. In other words, both benefited each other.

After demarcating their boundaries in 2006, they continued to collaborate together and, according to Gabuev, It is a “natural union”: “Russia has an abundance of resources and needs capital and technology, while China is the exact opposite. »

DW’s theory therefore resonates: “Russia’s relations go beyond oil, trade and technology. Even further than repression. “The two countries have undertaken a common mission that the world had already glimpsed some time ago. »

Twenty years ago, Putin began to have more obvious problems with the United States and NATO. In the latter, his main complaint was that more members joined the alliance after the Cold War, in part because he did not want Ukraine to have any chance of joining.

“Putin is obsessed with controlling Ukraine. He believes that without control over Ukraine, Russia is not a great power.”

So much so that the results were seen with the declaration of war on Ukraine. He did not mind severing ties with the West and preferred to cultivate his friendship with Xi Jinping. which is also far from European countries. However, China has not publicly supported the war.

For his part, the Chinese president established a new political system -which he baptized as the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation- which had serious consequences: “This is a digital police state, with the internet protected and citizens subject to a degree of surveillance never before seen. »

Furthermore, There are constant threats of going to war with the United States over Taiwan, a country that the Asian president considers “his.” as well as claiming ownership of much of the South China Sea. It was in these places that he built military infrastructure, thereby strengthening his economic and political influence over the rest.

And that’s it Their main obstacle is the United States, a country that has become their commercial and technological rival and with which they consider themselves an absolute threat to their security. For this reason, Xi Jinping is convinced that the United States has led Western countries to suppress and not establish any type of ties with China.

In this line, “China and Russia feel obliged by the United States to remain united. » according to Wang Huiyao, who runs a think tank in Beijing and has close ties to the Chinese government.

They are the same age, have experienced similar situations (their parents fought in World War II) and they both have daughters. “There are a lot of commonalities that unite them. I’ve seen them in person and in their body language you can see there’s a relationship.” assured the expert Gabuev.

In February 2022, as part of the Winter Olympic Games, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin announced a “limitless partnership” between their countries. This was precisely when Russia was about to invade Ukraine.

After the declaration of war, Russia found itself completely disconnected and facing endless sanctions from the rest of the countries, and its only refuge was China.

In this line, Both countries are “obsessed” with overthrowing US power. “The Russian theory is that the United States wants to take down Russia first, then do the same to China. » Gabouev explained.

For that, “They want to work together to undermine American dominance. »

DW’s hypothesis is that their shared mission is to “roll back a US-led global system that Putin and Xi see as a threat to their ambitions.” In other words, establish a new world order.

One of its expressions is the role that China plays in the United Nations. In this place, attempts to “redefine” what human rights and democracy are. “He believes that human rights should be based on economic definitions and not necessarily on the freedoms we think of in the West,” he said. Bonnie Glaser director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund.

At the UN Security Council, Russia and China vote together and online. In such cases, It appears that both are becoming less timid in their support of the Kim Jong Un regime in North Korea. In fact, they agree to lift the sanctions and view him more as a partner.

Furthermore, Nuclear weapons are an important part of the risk that China-Russia friendship poses to the rest of the world. “China is on track to double and then triple its nuclear arsenal,” Glaser said.

In this sense, the DW assured that China is preparing its nuclear forces for a possible war with the United States.

“We should not underestimate the degree of collaboration between Russia and China. “They could develop a common nuclear strategy” Glaser warned.

In this sense, the nuclear weapons specialist, Decker Eveleth I affirm that “Their combined forces will outnumber U.S. forces if the current trajectory is maintained. »