Andrey Kortunov Photo: Courtesy of Andrey Kortunov

Editor's Note: 

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to pay a three-day state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22. During his visit to Russia, President Xi will have an in-depth exchange of views with Russian President Vladimir Putin on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of mutual interest. When Global Times reporter Bai Yunyi (GT) traveled to Moscow this week to cover Xi's visit, she interviewed Andrey Kortunov (Kortunov), director-general of the Russian International Affairs Council, who shared his views on issues surrounding China-Russia relations, the Ukraine crisis, and challenges that the world is facing today.

GT: What do you expect from the Chinese President's visit to Russia? How will this visit affect China-Russia relations? 

Kortunov: This trip will be very important for the Russian side, especially since it will be President Xi's first trip abroad after his reelection at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress. 

There is a broad range of issues that can be discussed during this trip, including economic relations between the two countries, the emerging world order, regional crises, Western sanctions, and so on. The summit will also be a signal to the international community that the China-Russia partnership is as strong as ever.    

Russia-China relations is a new type of great-power relations here. The relations are based on the full respect of national sovereignty and a high degree of flexibility on specific issues, and the implied balance of interests rather than a balance of powers. The relationship is comprehensive, including economically, politically, militarily, socially, on the humanitarian front, and in other dimensions. It is important to note that it is not aimed at any third countries and it includes both bilateral and multilateral formats. A lot from this experience can be used by other international actors across the world.

GT: How do you and other Russian people view China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis proposed by China? What role can China play in resolving the Ukraine crisis? 

Kortunov: China is better positioned than many other countries to play a mediating role in the fratricidal Russia-Ukraine conflict.  

In Moscow, they paid a lot of attention to the Chinese peace proposals that were released in February. The question is whether the Ukrainian side might be ready to consider an immediate cease-fire and whether the West might incentivize the Ukrainian side to engage in negotiations with Moscow with no preconditions. It might be too early for such a move.   

GT:  What type of relationship do China and Russia have in dealing with various international issues? 

Kortunov: Russia and China do not constitute a formal defense alliance. They might disagree on some specific issues, however, on most important matters Moscow and Beijing work hand in hand with each other. This is reflected, for instance, in the way the two states vote within the UN Security Council or in their respective positions toward unilateral Western sanctions. I am sure that in the future this cooperation and coordination is going to broaden, extending to many international problems of common interest.  

China-Russia Photo: VCG

GT: If there is friction or even military conflict between China and the US because of the Taiwan question, what position do you think Russia will take?

Kortunov: Russia's position is very clear and unambiguous - it firmly stands by China with regard to the Taiwan question. I am sure that in case there is a direct US-China conflict in East Asia, Moscow will support Beijing. However, let us hope that such a conflict will never take place. 

GT: Regarding the Ukraine war, how likely is a direct conflict between Russia and the US in 2023? 

Kortunov: Unfortunately, at this point, it is impossible to rule out any scenario, including the one you refer to.   

GT: By the end of March, the US may hold a so-called democracy summit, which is believed to be aimed at China and Russia, and to shape the so-called democracy versus authoritarianism narrative globally. What is your view on this US move?

Kortunov: This is not the first time the US has planned to host such an event - the first virtual Summit for Democracy was hosted by the US on December 9 to 10 of 2021. I personally find the division of the international community into "democracies" and "autocracies" to be highly arbitrary, politically biased, and unproductive - even for US foreign policy interests. The world is much more colorful than the black-and-white picture that seems to dominate the vision coming from the White House.