A circus in town Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Editor's Note: 

As tensions at the Ukrainian border escalate, many in the West continue to play up the crises in Ukraine and the Taiwan Straits, claiming both are under threat of "military attacks" from either Russia or the Chinese mainland. How should Beijing and Moscow respond to a smear campaign from the West? What is the future of the China-Russia partnership? Russian political scientist Vladimir Pavlenko (Pavlenko), who is also a columnist for Russian news agency REGNUM and research fellow at the Moscow-based independent public scientific organization Academy of Geopolitical Problems, discussed these issues with Global Times (GT) reporter Xia Wenxin.

GT: What do you think of the recent "Summit for Democracy" that was clearly against China and Russia? Did the US achieve its goal?

Pavlenko: It is too early to say whether Joe Biden succeeded or not. On one hand, he attempted to artificially divide the international community into those who are loyal to Washington and those who oppose it. This harms the credibility of the United Nations (UN) for not being able to prevent such a division.

On the other hand, the summit contributed to a further rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing which is strengthening our position in the world. Russia and China can attract those who disagree with the attempts by the US to maintain its hegemony at the expense of the UN. There is also the factor of uncertainty in US domestic affairs. Mid-term elections will be held in less than a year and if the Democrats lose the majority in both or in one of the chambers of the US Congress, the whole structure that Biden is building based on the "Summit for Democracy" may stagger.

GT: After the Summit, will the "democracy" card the US has been playing still be effective?

Pavlenko: The weakness of US democracy was clearly manifested in the massive crisis after the 2020 US presidential election. The Capitol riots that happened on January 6, 2021, prove there are very serious contradictions in US society that seem to be more and more like a steam boiler with a closed lid.

Under the erosion of the "world hegemon," Russia and China enjoy one main achievement. They have clearly demonstrated to people all over the world an alternative path of development that is based on equal relations and excludes the dictates from the strong ones. The rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing also strengthens the world's shaken strategic stability. This is very important amid the tremendous changes that are taking place on our planet.

The recent summit showed that the only thing the US can offer to its satellite countries is financial handouts, including Biden's $424.2 million Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal. This is how the US encourages participants to show up at the second summit and undermine the UN. Moreover, the US is trying to exclude any issue that cannot be taken under US control from the global agenda. Russia and China need to strengthen their opposition to this policy and have an active discussion. Also, both countries need to show that there is no "universal" interpretation of human rights and it is a tool of US hegemony. Each country is entitled to its own agenda on human rights and does not have to report to Washington about it.

GT: Many Western media outlets have recently claimed that China and Russia are simultaneously launching military operations against the island of Taiwan and Ukraine, and that they pose a threat to the US-led international order. What do you think of this smear campaign from the West against China and Russia?

Pavlenko: Both the island of Taiwan and Ukraine received an invitation from Biden to the "Summit for Democracy." This means that there is a completely different scenario under the guise of demagogy about the alleged "military preparations" of Russia and China against Ukraine and Taiwan island. The US expects to permanently tear Ukraine away from Russia by dragging it into NATO, and refuses the recognition of the one-China principle. 

Neither Russia nor China is planning any "military solution" to the issue of Ukraine or the Taiwan question. Biden's speculation on these topics suggests that Washington may well be preparing major political and even military provocations and then put the blame on China and Russia. For the US it is not important at all if Ukraine and Taiwan island suffer in that case. For Washington, they are expendable material. Therefore, despite the slanderous nature of the US propaganda campaign, Moscow and Beijing should not let their guard down in any way.

GT: There is an opinion, especially in the West, that the current relationship between China and Russia is only a temporary alliance of convenience. What is your take on that? In what direction will the China-Russia partnership deepen in the face of constant harassment from the West?

Pavlenko: The Russia-China partnership is the union of the two most powerful states and peoples in Eurasia that prevents our great continent from becoming a bridgehead for US global domination. History shows that the external threat to the Eurasian peoples yields to greater stability and balance when Russia and China act together. The US has learned very serious lessons from our countries' joint international assistance to the heroic Korean people, who were subjected to US intervention in the 1950s. After falling back from the Korean Peninsula, the US made all of its efforts to sever our partnership for its own benefit.

Moscow and Beijing have also learned necessary lessons from the 20th century. The current rapprochement between Russia and China led by our leaders is not situational but strategic and future-oriented. The greater the threat posed by the policy of US hegemony, the more solid forms of economic, political, and military cooperation our two countries will need to repulse external threats. Our countries, peoples, and armed forces are ready for this.

GT: Many people compare the competition between the US and China to the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. How do you evaluate the current China-US competition? How will it end, in your opinion?

Pavlenko: The most important common feature of the Soviet Union-US and China-US confrontation is that rising socialism offers a new, more attractive model of the future to the world than capitalism. The latter has had its day. It is dying out but still clinging to power to rule the world and try to stop the "wheel of history."

In the era of digitalization, capitalism does not need people. A robot is more profitable for capitalists. It does not get sick, need social security or a pension or ask for a pay raise. The meaning of globalism does not lie in beautiful slogans like "one humanity." It is about transforming the present world made up by countries into a world of corporations.

We need to understand that capitalism was once reborn as imperialism and now it is malignantly taking on a new life as "globalism." And the main instrument to counter this is not a game of "universal" values but a clear statement about the content of scientific and technological progress. What are the interests behind this progress? The interests of the privileged minority or the absolute majority? This, in my opinion, is the main question of our time.

Globalism under the leadership of the US has turned into a machine that destroys humanity. And to defeat it, it is necessary to provide the world with a clear alternative program. This also aims to allow everyone see two things. First, the US is calling for a world serving a minority. In other words, it is calling for the division of humanity into the "superior" and the "inferior" through technology innovation. Second, there is the alternative to change these innovations for the common good. I am sure that this is beyond the power of capitalism and only socialism can achieve this.

It would be right for China to lay stress on the new model of development as well as clearly and distinctly explain to the world that a "shared future" is not only about material benefits. It can also lead to other higher, more harmonious spiritual state for mankind. Capitalism kills people's dreams and turns them into complete cynics. The task of socialism is to revive people's dreams. Then, people will be able to move mountains.