Sino-Russia Conference Extends Treaties as Xi Kowtows to Putin for Better Relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting via video conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 28, 2021. Photo by Alexey Nikolsky / Sputnik / AFP

The leaders of China and Russia, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, announced an extension of the 2001 Sino‑Russian Treaty of Friendship for another five years during a virtual conference held on June 28.

Prior to this meeting, the United States and Russia met for a summit in mid-June. Some commentators believe that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) extended the territorial cessation treaty in order to tug at Russia’s sleeve.

The CCP claimed in the Sino-Russian Joint Statement issued on June 28 that both countries regard the other as vital cooperation partners, who will further strengthen cooperation. “China and Russia have completely resolved the border issues left over from history, and there are no territorial requirements for each other,” it read.

The Russian Sputnik News Agency broadcast on June 28 that Putin said the important thing is that the two countries have determined that they have no territorial disputes and are determined to turn the common border into a zone of permanent peace and friendship.

The 2001 Sino‑Russian Treaty of Friendship was signed by former CCP leader Jiang Zemin and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 16, 2001, and has been in effect since Feb. 28, 2002.

It acknowledged all the unequal treaties between China and Russia during the Qing Dynasty, even though China has strong justification to reclaim a large swath of lost land. Xi basically reassured Putin that China would permanently give the border territory in dispute to Russia.

US-Russia Summit

On June 16, prior to the video meeting between Xi Jinping and Putin, U.S. President Joe Biden and Putin met at the Geneva summit in Switzerland.

At the summit, the two sides achieved some results but unresolved disputes still remain. The two sides agreed to exchange ambassadors again, resuming normal diplomatic relations.

The United States and Russia withdrew their respective ambassadors earlier this year due to the tension between the two countries. Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, was recalled in March this year; and John Sullivan, the American ambassador to Russia, was recalled in April. Sullivan, however, returned to Russia on June 24.

After the summit, Biden responded to a reporter’s question on the investigation into the origin of the CCP virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, saying that China is working very hard to paint itself as a responsible country but many things do not actually need to be explained to the people of the world; many things are self-evident, and people can see whether China really wants to tell a true story, he said.

Biden also emphasized that he and Xi are “not old friends,” and that it was “pure business” between the two.

The joint statement after the summit read: “...the United States and Russia will embark together on an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue in the near future that will be deliberate and robust.”

Wu Jialong, a macroeconomist and geopolitical expert of AIA Capital, told The Epoch Times on June 17 that Biden was able to send a clear signal to the world, especially to European countries such as Germany, France, and Italy, through meeting Putin.

On the one hand, the United States is to stand strong against the CCP, and on the other hand, the United States is planning to ally with a plethora of countries before doing so. The United States hopes that Russia will stand with it, or at least remain neutral.

For instance, in May 2021, the Biden administration absolved Russia’s Nord Stream 2, along with its chief executive officer, from the sanctions imposed on the natural gas pipeline project connected to Germany.

Wu Jialong analyzed that after the United States lifts sanctions, Germany can purchase natural gas from Russia, which is instrumental to the formation of common interests between European countries and Russia. From the point of view of jointly confronting the CCP, this is what the United States would like to see.

On June 28, Chinese-American political commentator Chen Pokong also stated on his YouTube channel that the current situation is very beneficial to Russia. Since Biden discovered that the CCP not only concealed the outbreak of the pandemic, but also doubled down on committing human rights atrocities in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, he has realized that there is no way to change the Sino-American relationships.

Therefore, the United States specifically defined the CCP as its most competitive enemy, initiated multiple actions of resistance, and made a series of concessions towards Russia, such as relaxing the Nord Stream 2 sanctions.

Moreover, this Sino-Russian video conference was also beneficial to Putin, because the CCP needs Russia, not vice versa, as Xi Jinping’s behavior revealed that Beijing needs Russia very badly.

Background on the CCP’s Traitorous Treaties

In 1689, the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912) and Russia signed the Nerchinsk Treaty, which stipulated that Vladivostok belonged to the Qing Dynasty. However, when the Qing government signed three treaties to end the Second Opium War in 1860,  the Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty signed in November of that year formally ceded about 154,440 square miles of territory east of the Ussuri River, including Vladivostok.

Vladivostok was originally under the jurisdiction of Jilin in the Qing Dynasty before 1860, and its original name was Haishenwei, which means “a small fishing village by the sea” in the Manchu language.

In June 1860, the Russian army occupied the area and renamed it Vladivostok, meaning “Conquering the East” or “Ruling the East.” Its Russian name clearly indicates that it was robbed from China to show off Russian military power, and to humiliate China.

After World War II, the Kuomintang government signed an agreement with the Soviet Union, stating that Vladivostok would be returned to China in 50 years. However, after the Kuomintang army retreated to Taiwan and the CCP seized power in mainland China, the Soviet Union unilaterally denied the treaty, and the recovery of Vladivostok was suspended.

From 1991 to 2001, Former CCP leader Jiang Zemin signed three treaties with Russia, with Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991, Boris Yeltsin in 1999, and Putin in 2001, respectively, acknowledging all the unequal treaties between China and Russia signed during the Qing Dynasty, handing over more than 54 million square miles of disputed border territory to Russia.