On April 28, 2020, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Institute of East European, Russian and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (IEERCAS CASS) had an online expert discussion on the international cooperation and strategic interaction between Russia and China in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 28, 2020, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Institute of East European, Russian and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (IEERCAS CASS) had an online expert discussion on the international cooperation and strategic interaction between Russia and China in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, and Sun Zhuangzhi, IEERCAS CASS Director, made opening speeches. Ivan Timofeev, RIAC Director of Programs, moderated the discussion.
The discussion participants included: Sergey Luzyanin, Professor at HSE and MGIMO MFA of Russia, RIAC Member; Xue Fuqi, Head of Strategic Studies Department at IEERCAS; Vasily Kashin, Head, CCEIS Section of International Military-Political and Military-Economic Problems, Higher School of Economics, IFES RAS Leading Research Fellow, RIAC Member; Pang Dapeng, Head of the Department of the Russian Policy of the Institute on research of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia of CASS; Andrey Karneev, Head of the School of Oriental Studies at HSE; Liu Fenghua, Head of the Russian Foreign Policy Research Department at IEERCAS; Yury Kulintsev, IFES RAS Research Fellow; and Xu Poling, Head of the Department of the Russian economy at IEERCAS CASS.
Russian and Chinese experts discussed the effect of the new type of coronavirus epidemic (COVID-2019) on international relations, as well as the priorities in the development of Russia-China relations in the new environment.
During the discussion, experts pointed out that the pandemic revealed a number of global systemic challenges. As the potential for conflict and instability will only increase, mutual trust, constructive interaction, and coordination between Russia and China will acquire particular significance. Particular attention should be paid to the pandemic itself and issues related to it at SCO and BRICS platforms, taking into account Russian Chairmanship in associations in 2020.
Negative trends are also associated with the aggravation of the information war against China: the accusations of the spread of coronavirus become a defining characteristic in China—the U.S. relations, and this trend will have long-term consequences. Experts emphasized the importance of the coordinated efforts of the Russian and Chinese sides to counter misinformation and ensure the stability of bilateral relations under external pressure.
The parties noted such consequences of the epidemic as a general decline in trade and disruption of production and logistics chains, however, they agreed that these circumstances do not have such a negative impact on Russia-China relations, that have accumulated a sufficient margin of safety over the years. In addition, the emphasis was placed on the need to develop new formats for humanitarian interaction in conditions when traditional channels were not available.
Experts emphasized the importance of further cooperation development between Russia and China in combating the epidemic, not only in the field of humanitarian assistance to the affected countries, but also in the development of medicines and preventive measures.
