On May 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport by special plane. On the evening of their visit to China, China and Russia jointly issued a joint statement of more than 12,000 words.
The 12,000-word joint statement clearly mentions that China and Russia will discuss with North Korea the issue of Chinese ships sailing through the lower reaches of the Tumen River.
In layman's terms, with the assistance of Russia, we are expected to open up the mouth of the Tumen River and establish a new strategic transport route! Of course, the highlight of Putin's visit to China this time is not limited to cooperation at the mouth of the Tumen River, but also a series of lucrative "gift packages". Whether it is an energy project or a high-tech, it can almost be said that it is "responsive".
According to reports by the global network, Russian satellite network and other media on May 17, Putin announced an exciting news at the end of his visit to China: China and Russia have confirmed that both sides have a strong interest in advancing the construction of the "Power of Siberia 2" gas pipeline.
After President Putin just finished his visit to China, Trump immediately jumped out to brush himself up with a wave of presence. He declared that the growing ties between China and Russia are extremely unfavorable to the United States. However, at this time, Trump was embroiled in constant legal disputes and appeared frequently in court.
In his view, the growing ties between China and Russia are not only a major change in the international situation, but also a direct result of Biden's incompetence.
Trump's implication is clear. He believes that Biden has not succeeded enough to fail, and at the same time is in opposition to China and Russia, two major powers, and is exhausted diplomatically, and can only end up in a passive situation. And he is confident that he can regain control of the world order through the "America First" policy and help the United States get out of its current predicament.
The Republican Party, for its part, has also duly launched its own propaganda machine, mobilizing its think tank members to discuss the role of the United States in Sino-Russian relations. Their argument is that the current deepening ties between China and Russia are solely due to Biden's foreign policy failures and miscalculations.
Republican think tanks believe that Biden's foreign policy is full of uncertainties and contradictions. For example, in dealing with the issue of China and Russia, Biden has tried to take a tough stance on the two countries on the one hand, and on the other hand, he hopes to solve the problem through dialogue and negotiation. This contradictory strategy has not only failed to achieve the desired results, but has made the United States appear more passive and powerless in the international arena.
The think tank also pointed out that Biden's weak performance in foreign policy has further pushed China and Russia together. During Biden's tenure in the White House, the United States imposed a series of sanctions and economic suppression on China, while taking measures to support Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. These tactics may put some pressure on China and Russia in the short term, but in the long run, they push the two countries closer together.
In contrast, during the Trump era, his "America First" strategy, which strengthened the country's economic power at home and adopted a more flexible foreign policy externally, although criticized by many as unilateralism, did maintain the hegemony of the United States to a certain extent.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly stressed his ability to build more personal diplomatic relations with the leaders of China and Russia. During his tenure, for example, he met with China and Putin several times and strengthened their lines of communication through a series of personal contacts. In Trump's view, this flexible and pragmatic diplomatic strategy is what Biden lacks.
After Biden took office, Sino-Russian relations warmed up rapidly, and Trump was particularly angry about this, saying that Biden allowed Sino-Russian relations to develop, resulting in the situation being unfavorable for the United States. He claimed that if he continued to serve as president, US-Russian relations would not be as tense as they are now, and Sino-Russian relations would not reach an all-time high.
In fact, behind these remarks of Trump, it is more for his own political interests to pave the way for the presidency.
Trump claims that if he continues to lead the United States, the tension between the United States and Russia will be greatly reduced, and Russia will not be forced to turn to the East. And this inference itself has serious logical holes.
The deepening of Sino-Russian relations is more based on the common interests of the two countries in many aspects, including economic cooperation, security cooperation and political trust. This is not only the demand of the two countries' own development, but also the result of changes in the international environment.
Regardless of who holds the presidency of the United States, the elevation of Sino-Russian relations, at least in the current international situation, is an inevitable trend, not the result of a particular US presidential policy. Especially in the face of common competition and threats, mutual support between China and Russia is more in line with the strategic interests of the two countries.
Trump blames Biden for the good relations between China and Russia, ignoring the complexity of the global situation. China and Russia have carried out in-depth cooperation in many fields in recent years, including energy, military and science and technology, which is not an achievement that can be achieved in one or two years.
Trump's accusations are nothing more than an excuse for his lack of election success in order to maintain his perceived image as a "hardline." However, the reality is that China's cooperation with Russia is based on mutual interests, in order to cope with the uncertain international environment and common challenges. Even without Biden in power, China and Russia will look for other ways to cooperate to safeguard their respective national interests.
Trump's view of China-Russia relations as an act of confrontation with the United States is actually a simplistic treatment of international relations. In his view, the strengthening of interaction between China and Russia means antagonizing the United States, while ignoring the complex network of multilateral relations between countries in the era of globalization. China's cooperation with Russia does not mean that both sides will ignore relations with the United States and Europe.
China has always advocated the development of diplomatic relations on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and has strived to maintain good cooperative relations with other countries. And Russia, in the face of Western sanctions, is also actively looking for diversified international partners to maintain the needs of its economic and social development. Therefore, Sino-Russian cooperation does not mean to isolate the United States, and this inference is very one-sided.
Even Trump once said that if he was still in office, there was a high probability that the Russian-Ukrainian war would not be fought. But we have to admit that as a businessman-turned-president, Trump's philosophy of governance has strong commercial overtones. During his tenure, Trump's "America First" policy has been throughout, from trade wars in the economic sphere to the renegotiation of international alliances and agreements, and Trump has always emphasized the maximization of national interests.
During his four years in office, the United States withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, erupted in bitter trade disputes with China, the European Union and other countries and organizations, and held a historic meeting with North Korea. This series of moves shows his flexible, changeable and eclectic diplomatic style.
During his tenure, Trump repeatedly expressed his friendliness towards Putin in public. Although this has caused many controversies at home and abroad, it has to be said that the mode of interaction between Trump and Putin is indeed different from the traditional confrontation between the United States and Russia.
Perhaps it is this special way of interaction that makes Trump think that if he is still in office, he can reach some kind of tacit understanding with Putin through personal diplomacy, so as to avoid the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Putin has repeatedly made it clear on international occasions that Ukraine's accession to NATO would pose a serious threat to Russia's national security. In fact, the Russia-Ukraine war is to a large extent Russia's tough response in order to maintain its own strategic security space.
And during Trump's administration, his attitude toward NATO was also quite controversial. He has repeatedly criticized NATO allies for "free rides" on defense budgets and demanded that allies bear more costs. Trump's questioning of NATO's role may have eased Russia's tensions and reduced geopolitical confrontation to some extent.
However, international relations and geopolitics have never been simply "one plus one equals two". Whether Trump's rhetoric can really be translated into tangible results depends on a number of factors.
Trump has always been better at what he says than he does, and now in order to prepare for the presidential election, he will definitely not miss any opportunity to brush up his presence. And he already has a high level of attention in his own right, and if done properly, he can indeed create a lot of topics. How many voters will accept it will depend on their perceptions.