Amid isolation from West over Ukraine war, China has no choice but to move closer to Russia, says Chinese expert

The transcript was published in the September issue of World Affairs, a journal affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the online article was removed on Tuesday.

Since the war, China was increasingly considered part of the “non-West camp”, Wu said. However, Beijing was unlikely to go against Moscow, especially when the two countries share a border of over 4,300km (2,670 miles), among the longest in the world.

“Such a situation leaves Russia and China with no choice but to continuously strengthen their strategic collaboration,” Wu was quoted as saying.

“Of course, we are not living in an era in which absolute security can be achieved by playing with the balance of powers, and using one country as a counterweight to another; the prospects for the development of national power and the competition among the great powers depend to a large extent on the level of domestic governance and development.”

US and G7 allies now expect Ukraine-Russia war to grind on for years

In the long interview carried out late last month, Wu said Moscow had a strong desire to forge closer ties with China.

“Russia is convinced that multipolarity is accelerating and that, as long as Russia and China stand together, the world will not return to the situation of the United States supremacy that prevailed since the end of the Cold War,” Wu said.

During his speech at the Moscow International Security Conference last month, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu praised China as “a strategic partner, good neighbour and loyal friend” of Moscow.

Wu, a former Lieutenant Colonel associate fellow at the People’s Liberation Army’s Department of General Staff, also noted that Shoigu had publicly offered to share with its allies and partners any information it had about US and Western weapons it captured and Nato training tactics learned from Ukraine POWs.

While China has insisted it is neutral in the Ukraine war, the growing strategic coordination displayed by Beijing and Moscow has drawn suspicion from governments in the West, which have repeatedly called on Beijing to press Putin to end the invasion in Ukraine.

01:02

‘Open lines of communication’: US Secretary of State meets Chinese Vice-President on UN sidelines

‘Open lines of communication’: US Secretary of State meets Chinese Vice-President on UN sidelines

Despite its shrinking economy, Russia remains a strong power with significant influence – it has one of the world’s biggest reserves of oil and natural gas, and many countries in Africa and the Middle East are highly dependent on Russia’s food exports, according to Wu.

Russia also maintains the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.

‘Very high level’: Putin plays up Russia’s economic ties with China

“In the international competition and strategic games of the future, Russia will not be able to achieve the goal of restructuring the international order on its own and, more than ever before, it will need to shape the international environment in its favour through cooperation with other countries,” Wu said.

Russia and Ukraine show no sign of ending the war, but Wu said a “peace opportunity” might not come until next spring “when neither side can fight any more”.

“A real willingness to negotiate is likely to take shape, and the opportunity for peace may come, with China playing a bigger role then.”