Zelensky requests for conversation with Xi Jinping in Ukraine

From the 1950s to the early 1960s, it was regarded as the “honeymoon period” of Sino-Soviet relations by the outside world. The two sides signed a series of agreements. The Soviet Union provided funds, materials and personnel to China from a series of aspects such as trade, higher education, nuclear technology, and industry. assistance to help China establish a complete industrial system. The first “Five-Year Plan” formulated by the Chinese government for economic development in 1953 was introduced with the help and planning of the Soviet Union. Mao Zedong emphasized the need to learn from the Soviet Union in all aspects, “The Communist Party of the Soviet Union is our best teacher.” The picture shows the report album published in 1956 commemorating the 6th anniversary of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty.

The Korean War broke out in June 1950, and China sent troops to join the war in October (the picture shows volunteers crossing the frozen Yalu River), directly confronting the United Nations forces led by the United States. China called it “Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea”. The Soviet Union did not directly participate in the war, but provided a large amount of weaponry and financial assistance. In June 1953, the North and the South signed the Panmunjom Agreement, which stipulated that the North and South Koreas should cease fire at the 38th parallel north latitude, which solidified the split pattern of the Korean peninsula.

In September 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited China (pictured) to participate in the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. At that time, the differences between the leaders of China and the Soviet Union in terms of political concepts and differences and the contradictions in strategic interests had already appeared. In 1960, Moscow recalled all the Soviet experts who aided China and abolished various agreements on economic and technological cooperation between the two countries. Beijing, on the other hand, launched a long-term sharp criticism of the “revisionism” of the Soviet Union and the foreign and domestic policies of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

China and the Soviet Union are the two neighbors with the longest land border in the world. In 1964, the first round of border negotiations between China and the Soviet Union failed. On June 3, 1969, Chinese and Soviet armies clashed on Zhenbao Island in the border river Ussuri River (the picture shows the Chinese defenders on Zhenbao Island), and both sides suffered casualties. In the same year, the two countries clashed again in Bacha Island in Heilongjiang and Tielekti in Xinjiang. In September, Kosygin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, passed through Beijing and had an emergency meeting with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai at the airport for three hours, reaching a consensus to maintain the status quo on the border and avoid armed conflicts.

After Brezhnev became the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Sino-Soviet relations remained in a state of confrontation. After the Chinese Cultural Revolution began in 1966, almost all exchanges between the two countries ceased. In 1967, Red Guards stormed the Soviet embassy in Beijing. The picture shows workers at Baotou Iron and Steel Works protesting against “Soviet revisionist social-imperialism” after the Sino-Soviet border conflict in 1969.

After entering the 1970s, China began to improve relations with Western countries led by the United States. Nixon’s visit to China in 1972 opened the door of China’s opening to the international community. In the 1980s, the Soviet Union faced more severe sanctions and confrontation from Western countries for invading Afghanistan. When Moscow hosted the Olympic Games in 1980, China joined the boycott camp of Western countries led by the United States.

At the end of the Soviet Union, Sino-Soviet relations eased somewhat. From October 1982 to June 1988, special envoys of the Chinese and Soviet governments conducted 12 rounds of consultations on the normalization of bilateral relations. In May 1989, Gorbachev, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, visited China and met with Deng Xiaoping. The two sides issued the “Joint Communiqué” in Beijing, marking the normalization of relations between the two countries.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, China announced that it recognized Russia as the successor of the Soviet Union. Contacts between the highest levels of the two countries have begun to resume. In 1999, the “Protocol Concerning the Narration of the East and West Sections of the Sino-Russian Boundary” was signed, and the long-standing issue of border demarcation was basically resolved. After Putin came to power in 2001, Russia and China signed the “Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation”, establishing a strategic cooperative partnership of equality and trust. In 2010, the two countries confirmed the “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination”. The picture shows Putin, Bush and Jiang Zemin at the APEC summit in Shanghai in 2001.

Entering the new millennium, both Beijing and Moscow intend to play a more active role on the international stage as their economies grow stronger. Multilateral platforms such as the BRICS summit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (founded in 2002) provide opportunities for this. The picture shows the BRICS summit held in India in October 2016.

The two authoritarian leaders, Xi Jinping and Putin, share similar beliefs in great power politics. While firmly consolidating their own power, they also hope to break the existing international order dominated by the United States. During Putin’s visit to Beijing and attendance at the Winter Olympics in February 2022, China emphasized that China and Russia have “unlimited friendship and endless cooperation.” The picture shows Xi Jinping tasting caviar pancakes with Putin in the Russian Far East port of Vladivostok in 2018.

Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian War in February 2022, Russia has been subject to international sanctions and isolation. But China has always refused to condemn Russia’s aggressive behavior, instead blaming the United States and NATO for the conflict, opposing sanctions, and calling attention to Russia’s “security concerns.” At the same time, China has substantially expanded its imports from Russia, especially energy imports. In March 2023, Xi Jinping visited Moscow and became the first head of a major country to visit Russia since the outbreak of the Ukraine war.