President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the Geneva summit on June 16. In response, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has issued a series of articles, stressing that China and Russia have a strong and solid relationship. Russia’s narrative, however, seems to be different from that of the CCP. It only emphasizes economic ties with Beijing, while neglecting a China-Russia strategic partnership.
The strategic partnership with Russia is widely seen as likely to be the CCP’s only remaining alliance that could be used to contain the United States and Western countries.
CCP Reports Russia’s Attitude Differently
The CCP seems most concerned about Russia’s strategic tilt toward the United States in the triangular relationship, which can be seen through the Party media’s recent reports.At the International Economic Forum video conference in St. Petersburg on June 4, journalists from around the world asked questions related to economic issues. However, He Ping, president and editor-in-chief of state-run Xinhua News Agency, asked Putin how he views the China-Russia relationship.
Putin said relations between the two countries are very good, and went on to say that the bilateral trade last year reached $100 billion, the highest ever. Xinhua News Agency and other CCP media widely reported this response as, “The China-Russia relationship is at its best in history.”
On June 14, Chinese state media, when reporting on the U.S. investment ban on Chinese military-related companies, said Putin’s response to the question set China’s mind at rest.
Days before, on June 10, Global Times reported on an interview with Andrey Denisov, the Russian Ambassador to China.
Denisov said he does not expect any “unrealistic results” from the Russia-U.S. summit, but Chinese state media reported that Denisov said China-Russia relations would not change because of a shift in U.S. policy toward Russia. Chinese state media also reported the ambassador as saying: if there is any mention of the CCP in the Russia-U.S. meeting, the Russian side would immediately inform Beijing of all the details and discuss with it.
Russia Has Great Economic Ambitions
Putin has never hidden his need for economic development. The country’s economy has been under increasing pressure since 2014, when it seized Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and was hit by economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries.In response to a question from Xinhua on China-Russia relations at the economic forum, Putin directly addressed economic relations and trade, without emphasizing China-Russia relations.
Infiltrating Russia Through the Russian Communist Party
According to a May 17 report by Voice Of America, the Russian Communist Party receives money and other benefits from the CCP, acts as its agent in Russia, and promotes it on Russia’s main state media.Senior members of the Russian Communist Party frequently travel to China and give speeches in return for payment, said an open letter to Russia’s justice minister. Gennady Zyuganov, the general secretary of the Russian Communist Party, published three books in China. One of his grandchildren is studying Chinese and living in China. Giving speeches and publishing books are seen as covert ways to receive bribes, the letter said.
