(The
title of this entry is taken from a propaganda song which I heard everywhere
during my 1954-56 visit to China. It popularized the myth of the Sino-Russian
friendship. Its music was written by the well-known Soviet composer of Georgian
extraction Vano Ilyich Muradeli, but ironically, even in this age of the Internet,
I was not able to retrieve the name of the author of the lyrics, having to
assume, in the absence of any other clues, that the composer wrote the words
himself, undoubtedly assisted by some anonymous political helpers.)
The
true nature of the Sino-Soviet relationship in the twentieth century is
described in my Stalin book, and in several entries throughout this
book, particularly, in the Lady section. (See, for instance, the
following posted entries: Kuomintang And
Soviet Russia, posted on March 3rd, 2011; Mao The Long Marcher, posted on March 6th, 2011; Stalin’s Korean Charade, posted on March
8th, 2011; and The Two
Superpowers, posted on November 14th, 2011.) This friendly
relationship between the two nationalist giants, the USSR and China, can be
called uneasy at best and adversarial at worst. The virtual state
of war between them in the 1960’s was not an aberration, but a true reflection
of the hard nature of that relationship. For the details, my reader is directed
toward the appropriate parts of both books, while in this “futuristic” entry I
shall be dealing not so much with the past as with the future.
Since
the time of Mao Zedong and his epigones, followed by the collapse of the USSR,
some radically new developments have occurred in the evolving relationship
between Putin’s Russia and China, bringing these two giants as close to each
other as they certainly ever have been. One reason for such a rapprochement is
quite obvious: the aggressive neo-imperialistic push by the United States,
after the perceived removal of her superpower competitor from the forefront of
the world’s stage, has seen her forcefully promoting her unipolar world
hegemony, throwing all sorts of former enemies into each other’s arms, in
validation of the doctrine of the Balance of Power. Needless to say, the
principle of “my enemy’s enemy being my friend” is hardly the
best foundation for a lasting friendship, and this reason alone, albeit
substantial, and probably sturdy for a long time ahead of us, has an in-built
flaw in it, exacerbated by the rancor of the last sixty-to-ninety years of
Sino-Soviet animosity.
But
there are also other factors as well, which strengthen the chances of the
current rapprochement obtaining a staying power. In the titanic contraposition
of the world’s rich against the world’s poor, both Russia and China find
themselves in one camp, which by itself may not offset the negative balance of
their historically troubled relationship, but in conjunction with the other
positive factors does amount to something of value.
After
all, even Nazi Germany might have stayed in the anti-capitalist alliance with
Soviet Russia, had it not been swayed by the temptation of the Drang nach
Osten.
Next
comes the historical choice that Russia has made between the peril from the
West and the peril from the East, in favor of the East, for which choice Prince
Alexander Nevsky had received his Sainthood. This vision of the West as more
threatening to Russia’s overall security, which prompts Russia to seek
alliances with the East is by now deeply ingrained in the Russian psyche, and
becomes a powerful argument pro her lasting rapprochement with China.
Having
settled some nasty old territorial disputes with China (giving China a very
good bargain at that, to keep her happy, as the Russians realize that, in the
larger context, their claims and counterclaims have been virtually trivial), Russia
has little to fear from China, being far superior to her militarily, and
economically by no means inferior, having made the Chinese hopelessly dependent
on Russia’s energy. The now popular Western insistence on China being the
emergent other superpower vis-à-vis the United States doesn’t hold
water, as China does not meet the criterion of basic self-sufficiency, being so
heavily dependent on foreign energy supplies, but, at the same time, there is
some truth to China’s growing global power, which makes it a matter of vital national
interest for China to keep and develop her friendly ties to Russia, as
together, the two of them are an unbeatable combination.
It
is, therefore, a fact of mutual necessity that the Russian-Chinese alliance
will only be gathering strength from now on, as their colossal need for each
other makes all their differences pale in comparison, and fade away from
serious consideration. And the ironically prophetic propaganda song of the
nineteen-fifties that sounded so false at the time, may now have come back to
stay for good: “Moscow-Peking, Forward March the Peoples…”
Postscript:
Indeed, this is just a postscript to the previously discussed Russian-Chinese
relations, as the state of Chinese-American relations today does not merit a special
entry. With all the caustic talk about China on the verge of becoming the
other superpower to reckon with, and a communist superpower at that,
and about China owning the United States by virtue of its immense holdings of
US Treasury Bonds, etc., there can be no question about the state of the
American-Chinese relationship today. Succinctly put, America and China are no
friends, and cannot be friends even under the best of circumstances. Whereas
previously the geographical proximity and the common border between Russia and
China had been the main reason for the Sino-Soviet problems, these days this
purely geographical factor has largely lost its preeminent significance,
while it is now the Unites States being perceived, not unjustly, as rudely
invading China’s vital space, with relative and undoubtedly humiliating
impunity. In other words, it is now America, instead of Russia, which is the
irritant number one of the Chinese geographical sensibilities; and therefore, Moscow-Peking
seems to be the only mutually satisfying game in superpower town.
(Plus:
a little hint for the politically conscious reader. China today practically
quoted Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s immortal poem Do
the Russians Want a War?, pointing out that China does not want a war, but
she is quite capable of winning one. In both instances, the addressee has been
the most militarily powerful nation in the world, the United States of America.
There are no coincidences in such cases, as the Russians like to say. By thus alluding
to Yevtushenko’s Soviet patriotic poem, China has sent a strong signal that in
the new world order’s geopolitical balance China and Russia stand together
against the reckless hegemonic claim of their mutual main adversary… “Moscow-Peking,
Forward March the Peoples…”)
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