Speaking to Xi at their meeting on Wednesday, Putin praised the growing importance of the Shanghai alliance while saying relations between the two countries had entered a “golden period” based on the “principles of equality and mutual benefit.”
” [SCO] “China has firmly established itself as one of the important pillars of a fair and multipolar world order,” he said.
Zeno Leoni, lecturer in defence studies at King’s College London, said Russia and China do not necessarily agree on the role of the SCO but are working together to strengthen it as a counterweight to Western “hegemony”.
“Beijing and Moscow have tendencies to both compete and cooperate at different levels…Unity within the SCO is the current priority, so the two countries are cooperating in this regard,” Leoni said.
“China and Russia are by no means anywhere near the level of integration of the Western countries, but they are gradually moving toward forming a Eurasian sphere.”
According to Leoni, China and Russia will also use the SCO to maintain stability in Central Asian systems, which are of vital importance to both countries.
The SCO was officially established in 2001 by China, Russia and four former Soviet republics, with the initial aim of resolving border issues in Central Asia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Following the summit in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, China took over as the SCO’s annual rotating chairman, and Belarus was elected as the 10th member state.
The group includes the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as India, Iran and Pakistan.
Wan Qingsong, an associate professor at the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University, said the summit “strengthened the SCO’s ability to respond to the global economic and financial crisis and to geopolitical changes in the world, especially in Eurasia.”
“But, of course, [China] We need to strengthen cooperation with Russia in these areas,” Wan said.
“There are different priorities – Russia prioritises security and China prioritises development – and these concerns are increasingly intertwined and the two countries need to manage them carefully,” he added.
“It is clear that the two sides did not bring up their differences on the agenda of the SCO summit,” Wan said.
Temur Umarov, a research fellow at the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center, also said Chinese and Russian concerns about security in Central Asia were driving continued cooperation.
“Moscow understands that it has a lot in common with Beijing when it comes to security in Central Asia,” Umarov said.
After a terror attack at a Moscow concert hall in March killed nearly 150 people, Russia said a Tajik national funded by an Islamic State affiliate operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan had claimed responsibility.
The Islamic State in Afghanistan launched a major recruitment drive among militants in Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries last year, according to the United Nations, raising concerns about a spillover of terrorism across the region.
In his speech at the Astana summit, Xi highlighted Afghanistan’s security challenges and vowed to lead the Taliban-ruled country “on the path to peaceful reconstruction.”
But King’s College’s Leoni said China’s economic power could “create friction” with Russia within the SCO.
“China’s overwhelming power [could] “It will undermine Russia’s plans for a Eurasian Economic Union (EEU),” he said, referring to Moscow’s efforts to create a common market similar to the European Union.
Concerns include China’s growing economic dominance in Central Asia, Moscow’s traditional sphere of influence, as Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war force former Soviet republics into a reality check.
02:25
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin meet on the sidelines of SCO in Kazakhstan
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin meet on the sidelines of SCO in Kazakhstan
China overtook Russia as Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner last year, and official U.S. estimates suggest China will account for nearly all foreign direct investment in Tajikistan by 2022.
But Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said sanctions have led Russia to shift its strategy away from competing with China as it becomes more dependent on the Chinese economy.
“Russia is increasingly looking east economically and wants to use China’s influence to defend its interests. [in the region]” said Wang.
But Russia’s close ties with China’s neighbours, North Korea and India, have surprised some.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was largely absent from the Astana summit but is due to visit Moscow next week to highlight regional priorities.
But Leoni rejected the idea that Putin’s move might be directed at China.[That] It would be inconsistent and run counter to recent trends such as closer ties between Moscow and Beijing.”
