The direction of major power relations has always determined the world order. Since Trump’s second term, many Western think tanks have been discussing and even hyping up the so-called “reverse Nixon,” which mimics U.S. President Nixon’s approach in the 1970s of allying with China against the Soviet Union. They propose that the U.S. today could ally with Russia against China. The main arguments of this faction currently include the U.S. lifting or partially lifting sanctions on Russia, a comprehensive U.S.-Russia reconciliation, the U.S. pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine, the U.S. potentially recognizing Russia’s de facto control over parts of Ukrainian territory, and the U.S. proposing Russia’s reinstatement as a G7 member, all in exchange for Russia distancing itself from China. Clearly, many of Trump’s actions since his return to the White House have reflected these propositions, and major global media outlets have been eagerly discussing this topic, although most people seem not to be optimistic about this prospect.

On March 19th this year, after a phone conversation between the Russian and U.S. leaders, a TASS correspondent in China interviewed me. He asked a question: Western public opinion believes that closer U.S.-Russia ties are aimed at containing China. What’s your view on this? I said I wasn’t worried at all. China and Russia have established a highly mature strategic mutual trust, and we have sufficient confidence in our Russian friends, just as Russia fully trusts China.

Indeed, today’s China-Russia relationship is a very mature major power relationship. President Xi Jinping has visited Russia 11 times, and the two heads of state have met more than 40 times on various occasions. Such frequent and close communication between the two leaders itself demonstrates the high degree of mutual trust between China and Russia. The vast majority of Chinese and Russians are happy about this.

Several American journalists have also asked me similar questions, and my answer is: The leaders of China and Russia are statesmen, not politicians, and certainly not businessmen. Statesmen are characterized by long-term political vision and an understanding of the overall interests of their respective nations, regions, and even all of humanity.

President Putin sees this very clearly and has repeatedly pointed out that the West is failing, and that Asia, represented by China, holds the future. The two heads of state, China and Russia, directly guide the development of China-Russia bilateral relations from a strategic height. This has led to continuously deepening political mutual trust, increasingly significant cooperation results, and a deeper-rooted generational friendship. Even when temporary contradictions arise in some areas, they are more like contradictions between brothers, and both sides strive to resolve them on the basis of high political mutual trust.

I also discussed how both China and Russia are civilizational states, characterized by deep cultures and deep peoples. The people of both countries possess a resilient national character forged through historical vicissitudes, a mindset that values collective interests, and a cultural heritage where family and state are intertwined. From Tchaikovsky’s “Andante Cantabile” to Abing’s “Moon Reflected on Er-quan Spring,” both the Chinese and Russian nations can transform their past sufferings into spiritual wealth. From the “Yellow River Cantata” to “The Sacred War,” these are true reflections of the bloody battles fought by the Chinese and Soviet peoples 80 years ago, with the underlying theme of never yielding, fighting to the end, defeating fascism, and achieving national liberation and rejuvenation.

This collective memory and national character of China and Russia are not possessed by a country like the United States. This also means that the depth, breadth, richness, and immense potential of the current development of China-Russia relations are unimaginable for a country like the United States, and even more incomprehensible for the transaction-oriented leaders of the United States.

On May 7th this year, on the eve of President Xi’s visit to Russia, a reporter from The Washington Post  asked me about the impact of the Trump administration’s closer relationship with Putin on China-Russia relations, and whether China was prepared to use the meeting between the Chinese and Russian leaders to demonstrate that Trump had not succeeded in pulling Russia away from China. I said that China is actually happy to see an improvement in Russia-U.S. relations because this generally contributes to world peace. I personally also believe that Trump is not a warmonger; he believes that endless wars have exhausted U.S. national strength, and this attitude is commendable.

The theme of the Chinese President’s visit to Russia this time was to solemnly commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism. As the main Asian and European battlefields of the World Anti-Fascist War, China and Russia both made immense national sacrifices, at the cost of tens of millions of casualties, making enormous contributions to their national survival and the salvation of humanity. Furthermore, the victory of the Anti-Fascist War laid the foundation for the international order and institutional arrangements based on the UN Charter, which is the cornerstone for maintaining world peace, security, and development. During this visit, President Xi and President Putin issued a joint statement in Moscow, emphasizing that China and the Soviet Union, as the main battlefields in Asia and Europe respectively, stood at the forefront of resisting Japanese militarism and Nazi Germany and their collaborators, and were the two core forces in resisting militarism and fascism. In today’s world, China and Russia share the common responsibility and mission of upholding a correct historical view of World War II. We absolutely do not accept anyone or any country attempting to revive fascism. We were shocked by the absurd remarks recently made by U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth on Iwo Jima. He actually equated the Japanese soldiers who slaughtered over 20,000 U.S. troops during World War II with the fallen U.S. soldiers, calling them an “example of heroic spirit,” and asserting that this spirit would “live on forever” in the U.S.-Japan alliance. These remarks sparked strong indignation among the descendants of U.S. World War II veterans. Did Hegseth’s actions stem from his own ignorance of history, or from other political intentions? If Hegseth intentionally distorted history to maintain the so-called “U.S.-Japan alliance,” it would be extremely short-sighted and despicable, and would ultimately backfire.

He then asked me whether President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia was meant to show a joint China-Russia stance against the United States? Especially since China and Russia announced the establishment of a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination,” what changes have occurred in China-Russia relations? I said, first, the United States has adopted an aggressive attitude towards both China and Russia for quite some time, which objectively promoted the closer ties between these two major powers, but this is far from the entirety of China-Russia relations. Second, I believe that the characteristics of China-Russia relations—non-alliance, non-confrontation, and not targeting a third party—can set an example for establishing a new type of major power relations today. We hope that China-U.S. relations and Russia-U.S. relations will also develop in this way. Third, the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination was proposed in 2019, and over the past six years, the development of relations between the two countries has been all-encompassing. Personally, I believe the most important thing is that it has injected new and powerful endogenous driving force into China-Russia relations. I suggested he read the “Joint Statement on the Plan for the Development of Key Directions for China-Russia Economic Cooperation until 2030,” in which both sides identified eight key areas for practical cooperation, including trade, logistics, energy, and technological innovation.

Recalling the early days of Russia’s economic transition in 1991, bilateral trade between China and Russia was less than $5 billion, and it has now increased to $250 billion (this is 2024 data).

In addition, various forms of cooperation, particularly in the agricultural and scientific-technological fields, have shown remarkable highlights. Russia has become China’s third-largest source of agricultural imports, and the annual growth rate of trade in goods like soybeans, trade in general, and beef between China and Russia has exceeded 20%. Both sides are jointly developing new projects in areas such as aerospace, quantum communication, and artificial intelligence. Cooperation in new materials, green development, and biomedicine has also become new growth points in bilateral relations. New breakthroughs have also been made in international industrial and supply chain cooperation, with exports of automotive and other mechanical and electrical products to Russia and local investment in establishing production lines developing simultaneously.

Chinese-made cars and electronic products are highly favored by local users in the Russian market, and their market share is continuously increasing.

Furthermore, promoting the reform of the international order is also a key area of cooperation between the two sides. I personally believe that Russia is a revolutionary, and through a rather controversial military operation, it is, to some extent, aiming to change the Western-dominated unipolar international order.

China is a reformer, integrating into globalization in a way that maximizes its good aspects and minimizes its bad aspects, and continuously pushing for reforms of the existing international order. The United States under Biden is the maintainer of this unipolar order, while under Trump, the United States became the abandoner, as he believes this unipolar order has overburdened the U.S., causing its economy to hollow out and decline. A multipolar world has now become a reality, but a multipolar world order has not yet fully emerged. China and Russia are both forward-looking, advocating for the establishment of a global order that benefits the vast majority of people worldwide. Trump’s characteristic is to look backward, longing for 19th-century mercantilism and the past Yalta system, hoping that a few major powers will dominate and divide the world. Therefore, today, China and Russia share the mission of building a democratic, just, cooperative, and win-win multipolar world order.

At 10AM on May 9, as the Kremlin bells rang, the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Great Patriotic War began. On the main viewing stand, the Chinese President stood shoulder to shoulder with leaders from over 20 countries and international organizations, and the Honor Guard of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army also participated in the Red Square parade. Watching the live broadcast of this parade, I couldn’t help but recall the Moscow Red Square parade on November 7, 1941, when Soviet Red Army soldiers, fresh from the flames of the anti-fascist front line, marched across Red Square and then directly headed to the warfront to fight fascism to the death. I also remembered the founding ceremony of New China on October 1, 1949, where the PLA soldiers participating in the parade also came directly from the smoke and fire of battle, marched through Tiananmen Square to be reviewed by Chairman Mao, and many of these soldiers went directly to the front shortly after the founding ceremony to liberate the vast unliberated territories in China’s northwest and southwest. The Soviet Union also became the first country to announce recognition of the People’s Republic of China. Therefore, shared memories, shared interests, and shared missions have laid a solid foundation for the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination to reach new heights in the new era.

Editor: Zhiyu Wang