The Implications Of US-Russian Rivalry On China – OpEd

As the US president, Biden openly called Russian President Putin a “killer”, referring to him “not having a soul and will pay the price for his doings.” As a common practice, President Putin responded with a historical analogy of the US genocide of the indigenous people, slavery and subjugation of black communities in the US. He added that the US should stop judging others with the double-standards. The fight of personal words between the heads of state marks a crunch moment in US-Russian relations and is very rare in the history of diplomacy.

President Putin said that Russia will collaborate with the US, but only in areas where the two sides are involved and that the talks should be productive and sincere under conditions. In addition, they are going to have to deal with it. Despite all of their efforts to halt our progress, they will have to consider that the mutual sanctions against each other and even personal insults publicly have done nothing good to both and their allies at all. There are some significant points of Putin’s statement that he preferred talking to the Western countries in more polite and professional manner. He highlighted now that it is time for western governments to follow diplomatic rules and protocol when dealing with Russia. However, Putin straightforwardly criticized the US for judging Russia as a communist state by its criteria. 

The question arises of what these current developments mean for the Chinese leadership and how China will respond to the increasing tensions between both powers as a responsible great power. On March 18, a meeting took place between high officials of the US and China in Alaska, where the US side asked that China needs to understand the Biden administration’s intentions. Whereas, Chinese side strongly resisted the external involvement in the internal affairs of China. Apart from opposing external interference Chinese delegation expressed their view that they will take decisive actions against anyone who is doing so. Same as Russian president China presented her view that they hope that the US will perform better on human rights and respect for mutual respect.

What we can conclude from the current signs of progress between the US and China is that many analysts might call it provocation of the US; however, the Chinese delegation was in full swing and openly opposed the superiority of the US and asked for a system that treats all in the same way. Chinese leadership believes that the US is imposing its style of democracy on other states when they have their human rights inside the country. China is far ahead of Russia in challenging US supremacy on the global stage. 

At this critical junction, it is now a quest for power between the US and China whereas, Russian is playing a supplementary role in the power struggle between both powers. The strong and stable leadership in China is giving an upper hand to the Chinese side. To avoid any possible conflict and tussle between both powers, it is necessary that people on both sides need protection from all the potential threats posed artificially by world leaders.

*About the authors:

• Zamira Sadykova, currently studying PhD in International Relations at Jilin University, China. She focuses on major power relations. Zamira can be reached at [email protected] 
• Makam Khan Daim, studying Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies at University of Glasgow. He did his M.Phil in International Relations at Zhejiang university. During his student life he served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Afghan students in Pakistan. He worked as an editor at Security Distillery from December 2019 to January 2021. Makam can be reached at [email protected]