Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin call for a unified global future

Barely a week after US President Donald Trump left Beijing following a rare glamorous state visit, the first in a decade by a US president, China revealed itself as the modern mecca of crisis diplomacy with the intervention of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The contrast between mood and expectations was palpable in every corner of the universe. While Trump was in China to repair fragile bilateral relations, Putin spoke with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, to cement ironclad ties that have become a symbol of an antithesis to U.S.-led Western hegemony.

So it’s been a fortnight of high-level diplomacy carried out by arguably the three most powerful leaders in the world. However, Beijing being the meeting point marked a significant shift in global power relations. On the contrary, it confirmed, if there was any doubt, China’s meteoric rise in international affairs.

The world’s second-largest economy continues to host a large number of world leaders seeking a special, private audience with the Chinese president. The world is indeed turning to China to resolve intractable global challenges that traditional multilateral institutions are unfortunately no longer able to resolve.

This specter is, in my humble opinion, a damning confirmation and acceptance of the rise of unilateralism that has tilted the world order.

But it is undoubtedly Sino-Russian relations that have captured the attention of geopolitics this week. Putin was quick to point out that the special bond that continues to develop between Beijing and Moscow should not frighten the West or anyone else.

Their bilateral relations are primarily, if not mostly, focused on issues of mutual interest.

The two nations will continue to work together “in the name of peace,” Putin said. They are committed to a sovereign and independent international policy, “working together to stabilize the international situation,” Putin said.

Even if the two nuclear powers have remained faithful to their pro-Global South and South-South relations, one can doubt the threat of their cooperation in the domination of the West in international relations.

Trump implored Xi to prevail over Iran, another BRICS member, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. So far, it seems that this call has fallen on deaf ears, even though global diplomacy can be characterized by slow idiosyncrasy.

The lessons from the Xi-Putin meeting are interesting. Xi called their meeting “deep, friendly and productive.” He said their discussions focused on a wide range of international issues.

China and Russia are seen by international relations scholars as the embodiment of a new world order. At the heart of this new global force for change is “political trust” between the two nations that have been inadvertently drawn together by the West’s pervasive enmity.

Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine four years ago, Russophobia has reached new heights in the West. However, in a world architecture marked by the phenomenon of globalization which is characterized by visible interdependence and interconnectivity, economic difficulties have gradually forced the West to ease its sanctions on Russian oil and gas.

The United Kingdom, which was one of the main factors in pushing Ukraine to abandon a two-year truce with Russia in Istanbul, is the latest European power to ease restrictions on Russian oil.

Economics has its own way of teaching politics that human beings need each other, regardless of their ideological differences. We know that humans have no patience for hunger, starvation and wanton hardship.

Economic and political isolation has failed miserably, thanks in large part to China, which has led the world majority in unbreakable economic and political cooperation with Russia despite threats of Western retaliation.

The Russian economy has remained resilient and stable despite the sanctions. In fact, the economy grew amid the war with Ukraine.

Despite a difficult international situation, trade turnover between Russia and China exceeds $200 billion (R3.3 trillion). According to Xi, trade turnover between January and April this year alone increased by 20 percent, “which was not an easy task,” he said.

Between 2015 and 2026, trade between Russia and China increased by more than 256%, from $64 billion to $228 billion.

According to Putin, this upward economic trajectory will continue to sharpen fiercely. Other key factors in this rise will be Russia’s ongoing modernization of the main eastern railways – the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur.

“We are working on the trans-Arctic transport corridor, including its main artery, the Northern Sea Route,” Putin said.

This means that Russia is positioning the Northern Sea Route as an alternative passage between Europe and Asia, rivaling the traditional Suez Canal route.

Russia is also working to ensure China’s energy security. According to Putin, Russian reactors should provide the Chinese economy with clean, cheap energy. “At the Xudapu nuclear power plant, Russian-designed reactors are being completed,” Putin said, adding: “They will greatly contribute to the Chinese economy, providing Chinese businesses and households with cheap, clean energy.”

High-value goods have generated nearly $240 billion in trade turnover so far this year, according to the Kremlin. More importantly, all import-export operations are now carried out in Russian rubles and Chinese yuan.

Putin said Russia and China “have built a sustainable mutual trade system, protected from negative trends in global markets.”

Overall, this is part of the “dedollarization” strategy that has been officially adopted by BRICS despite threats of backlash from the Trump administration. Mutual trade between China and Russia is protected against any external influence.

Addressing the United States, Xi said: “Unilateralism threatens to return us to the new law of the jungle. He added that China and Russia would uphold “the concept of a single destiny for humanity.”

He said it would thwart unilateralism, protect the authority of the United Nations and fend off the resurgence of Nazism and fascism.

* Abbey Makoe is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Global South Media Network. The opinions expressed are personal.

**The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media or IOL.

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