By Denying Russia is Now China’s Junior Partner, Putin Only Calls Attention to that New Reality, ‘Moscow Times’ Suggests

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 18 – Sometimes a denial has the effect of calling attention to something than silence would have. Such appears to be the case with Vladimir Putin’s insistence that there is no basis for suggesting that Russia is becoming “the junior partner” of China, to judge from a new article in The Moscow Times.  

            Asked at a press conference at the BRIKS conference in Kazan whether he now considers Moscow to be “the junior partner” of Beijing, Putin said there was no basis for such suggestions because the two countries deal with each other as equals (moscowtimes.ru/2024/10/18/putin-otkazalsya-schitat-rossiyu-mladshim-partnerom-kitaya-a145379).

            The Kremlin leader’s words will disturb both those Russians who have long been accustomed to viewing Russia as the “senior” partner in this relationship and others who will see the statistics the newspaper offers that show both China’s role in Russia and Russia’s dependence on China growing.

            Among the figures The Moscow Times offers are the following:

·       The Russian economy is more dependent on China than that of any other country except for North Korea.

 

·       China is rapidly increasing its presence in the Russian economy, with Chinese firms now accounting for more than a third of all new businesses registered in Russia this year.

 

·       Moscow continues to sell gas to China at discount prices far below what it might be able to get from other countries.

 

·       China now dominates the new car market in Russia but shows no interest in building plants in Russia to manufacture them that might employ Russians.