Russia views China's growing penetration in Central Asia with 'great unease': Political analyst
Dec 17, 2021
Moscow [Russia], December 18 : The Sino-Russia relations are "invariably good", but Moscow views Beijing's growing economic and political penetration in the resource-rich Central Asia with "great unease and usually at its own expense", according to a political analyst.
Valerio Fabbri, writing in Moscow-based think tank-- Russian International Affairs Council-- said that the relations between Russia and China find many convergences, yet their bilateral ties are pragmatic rather than ideological.
Fabbri pointed out that there is increasing concern within Russia over China's efforts to deepen its influence in Central Asia
"The two countries consider bilateral cooperation as a key factor in "changing the global picture" and promoting their goals in the international arena. In coordinating their approaches at the international fora, the two countries are keen to ensure that the Central Asian region does not get transformed into a zone of civil unrest or serve as a platform for radical Islamist forces, primarily ISIS. However, there is increasing concern within Russia over China's efforts to deepen its influence in Central Asia," Fabbri said.
Moreover, Fabbri said that Russia's investments in the region have been lacking, and remittances from Russia of Central Asian immigrants have declined significantly, largely because of Russia's economic downturn and Western sanctions.
"Russia views China's growing economic and political penetration in the resource-rich Central Asia with great unease and usually at its own expense. Meanwhile, China has strengthened its economic clout in the region by becoming the region's largest investor as well as a biggest trade partner. Due to its sufficient financial resources, China also provides a wide range of areas for cooperation. Besides the economic frontiers, China is also cutting into Russia's military hold in the region," Fabbri said.
In sum, Fabbri said that Sino-Russia relations are invariably good, a testament to which is also the recent virtual meeting between the two heads of state, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, the second in one year in preparation to an in-person summit in Beijing in February.
"However, despite the relationship is being hailed as a 'model of coordination between countries in the 21st century, both countries are wary of each other and well aware that the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, signed in 2001 and renewed this year, is just a framework for dialogue, quite far from framing a strategic alliance," Fabbri said.
