President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Thursday, starting a state visit to Russia, during which he will attend the ceremonies to commemorate the 70th anniversary of victory in WWII.

While leaders of major Western countries will be absent during the military parade on Saturday, the closer ties between China and Russia have drawn biased observations from the West.

The analyses from Western observers are mostly alike. They presume China and Russia are moving toward an alliance, then they list various “disputes” and “suspicions” between the two in order to prove that China and Russia are actually potential opponents.

The West, especially the US, have deep concerns over China-Russia relations. They are worried that the two countries may become allies, and hope their “hidden troubles” can surface.

Actually China-Russia ties are quite normal. The two have been getting on well in their friendship and cooperation, and consider their ties strategically important.

The confrontation decades ago between China and the then Soviet Union is a lesson for both. Although the disintegration of the Soviet Union resulted in a period of diplomatic confusion for Russia, the two countries’ relations have been smoothly improving since the 1990s.

The change of the international situation did contribute to closer China-Russia ties, but this is not all. The more decisive factor lies in China and Russia’s respect toward each other and willingness to handle disputes carefully. This is what big-power relations should be. But many major countries have not achieved this. 

China and Russia have repeatedly stated that they will become partners, not allies. They do mean that. China also cares about relations with Western countries. Russia does not want to see relations with the West becomes a deadlock. 

China and Russia’s strategic cooperation is not exclusive. But such relations are not understood by the West. For the US and many Western countries, a country is either an ally or an enemy. It seems impossible for them to make friends without making enemies.

The 21st century should be an era without alliances. A magnanimous and powerful country does not need to ally with other countries. The US and Japan, which are still upgrading their alliance, should be ashamed in front of the China-Russia relations. They can imagine, if more countries learn from them and create a number of military alliances, how many more disasters will be awaiting humanity.

Some said the China-Russia friendship is a matter of expediency. This view is also anachronistic. The game of power has been developing. It is possible that one day the China-Russia relationship will become an example for the world.