Why does China want to help Russia?

China is willing to help Russia overcome economic difficulties that the country is facing, Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi said. At the same time, the Minister expressed confidence that strong Russia was capable of handling the challenging situation.

It is an open secret that the Chinese are not prone to be sentimental. Why does China want to help its neighbor in need then? Lead researcher at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies (IFES) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Deputy Head of the Center for Economic and Social Studies of China Pavel Kamennov commented on the situation to Pravda.Ru. 

"We have a strategic partnership. The Chinese look at such questions very seriously taking into account long-term prospects. You know we have been successfully developing trade and economic and scientific relations, military and technical cooperation. And if they offer help, it means it can be done only based on an equitable, trust-based agreement mutually beneficial for both parties. Why not?" Pavel Kamennov said.

According to a research scientist of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Li Jianmin, quoted by China Daily, China will provide help via such institutions as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. A Pravda.Ru correspondent asked what Russia could ask China's help for?

"I cannot answer this question yet, because judging by the optimistic statement Putin made at the last press conference, we can handle our problems ourselves just fine. But based on a specific nature of particular projects, possibly, it will be reasonable to accept China's help. These are my own assumptions. But, generally, we can handle all problems ourselves," Pavel Kamennov summarized.

Deputy Director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Center for Economic and Social Studies of China and East Asian countries Andrey Ostrovskiy: 

Russia entirely protects China from the north

"It has both political and economic factors. Russia almost entirely protects China from the north, total border length is 4200 km. And China is interested in good and calm situation in Russia. China also has an energy problem, it is forced to focus on import of energy resources, in particular oil and natural gas. In circumstances of growing animosity with the U.S. sea freights are rather risky. And overland supplies through Russia and Central Asia cannot be shut down. Hence China is directly interested in an allied neighbor, struggling against a common enemy - the U.S.," Andrey Ostrovskiy said.

According to a research scientist of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Li Jianmin, quoted by China Daily, China will provide help via such institutions as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. A Pravda.Ru correspondent asked if it meant providing credits?

"There may be agreements between companies. We have quite a lot of joint projects. They have been insufficiently implemented so far, we roughly rank No. 8 or 9 for China by the foreign trade volume. And even worse in terms of the volume of investments. We have a very low level of investment cooperation," Andrey Ostrovskiy said. 

"Now there is the project for construction of a high-speed railway Moscow-Kazan, and China has a vast experience in this area. In Russia, there are trains with speed ranging from 40 to 80 km/h, but China has already had trains faster than 200 km/h for a long time. China could provide substantial aid in building a bridge across the Kerch Strait. Well, we have plenty of areas for cooperation," Andrey Ostrovskiy summarized.

Pravda.Ru

Translation provided by TNC Freelancer Group