25 September 2018
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- An Alliance is Unlikely
An Alliance is Unlikely
THE Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), which is President Vladimir Putin’s main platform to engage with major economic players in the Asia-Pacific, seeks to attract investment and strengthen the underdeveloped Russian Far East’s (RFE) links with the world’s fastest growing region.
Putin met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Vladivostok earlier this month, while Chinese troops took part for the first time in the Vostok-2018 military exercise. During their meeting, both leaders pledged to work together to deal with current issues. An increasingly unpredictable geopolitical climate made the partnership between Moscow and Beijing more important, Xi was quoted as saying during talks with Putin.
Xi also advocated that both countries team up against protectionism, which Putin echoed. They agreed to work on boosting trade and to conduct more bilateral transactions in the ruble and the yuan, rather than the greenback. Putin also told reporters that Moscow and Beijing would continue working jointly towards de-escalation and a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula.
During his address at the EEF, on Sep 12, Xi pledged to help Russia develop the RFE, surely music to Putin’s ears.
… CHRIS CHEANG is a senior Fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. A former diplomat, he served three tours in the Singapore embassy in Moscow.
RSIS / Online
