After their meeting, Xi said that Europe is an “independent pole in a multipolar world.” That the Chinese leader should make such a statement is not surprising. That a major American European and NATO ally should sign on to it is. The joint declaration issued by Xi and Macron following their talks declares that “They seek to strengthen the multilateral international system under the aegis of the United Nations, in a multipolar world.”
One week after Macron flew out of Beijing, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew in. Like Macron, he arrived with a huge entourage of business executives. Accompanied by 240 business representatives, Lula and Xi signed several agreements on trade and investment
"What was different was that it was distinctly China's G20. China did not simply host the G20 for America to sweep in, give its "leadership" and stamp to proceedings, and then to fly off. China, at this G20, made it very plain that it was leading, and to make it clearer still, it made sure that the world should see that the guest of honor was the Russian President, and not the American President (who regrettably experienced some technical difficulties that marred his ceremonial arrival). There was a deeper purpose here: to underline strategic co-ordination with Russia in the context of the display of Chinese leadership. "
"What may emerge in more concrete terms - it is too early to say - is the second strand to President Xi's global vision. In his address to the Chinese Communist Party, Xi said that relations of Russia and China should not be confined solely to economic relations, but rather, these two states should create an alternative military alliance: "we are now witnessing the aggressive actions by the United States against Russia and China. I believe that Russia and China may form an alliance before which NATO will be powerless," Xi said.
Henrik Ohlsson i Forum Eurasien 1/11 (?) Great Game 2.0 – rysk offensiv i Centralasien Bildtext: Putin vill utöka Rysslands ekonomiska inflytelsesfär i flera steg. Tullunionen som nyligen ingåtts mellan Ryssland, Vitryssland och Kazakstan (röd markering) utvecklas till en en frihandelszon. I nästa led bjuds även fler OSS-länder in till samarbetet, i första hand Kirgizistan och Tadzjikistan (...) som redan ingår i EurAsEc. " "Ryssland har även skapat ekonomiska och militära samarbeten med Kina inom ramen SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), som omfattar ungefär samma länder som CSTO och EurAsEc med den skillnaden att även Kina ingår. Dessa samarbeten kan till stor del ses som ett försök att skapa en motvikt till USA och NATO. Men som ofta påpekats föreligger det i grunden en konkurrenssituation också mellan SCO:s två stormakter. Kanske kommer denna konflikt att skärpas och tydliggöras under Putins kommande presidenttid."
"China, as all the major powers today, has a multifaceted foreign policy, engaging with all parts of the world. The question is what its priorities are. I believe that priority number one is its relations with Japan and the two Koreas. China is strong, yes, but would be immeasurably stronger if it were to be part of a northeast Asian confederation."
Thursday, December 12, 2013 "Ukraine has served as a back channel for China to circumvent Russia’s intellectual property rights protections. In recent years, debt-ridden Kiev sold to Beijing hundreds of Russian-made aircraft engines to equip China’s JL-trainers and J-10 and J-11 combat aircraft — themselves knockoffs of Russia’s Sukoi fighter jets."
Pepe Escobar 20 May 2014: Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and China's President Xi Jinping attend an agreement signing ceremony during a bilateral meeting at Xijiao State Guest house ahead of the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit, in Shanghai on May 20, 2014
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization. Candidate