Putin has a massive plate of foreign policy headaches. Putin is at loggerheads with Georgia, Ukraine, European Union, United States, Canada, Australia, Turkey, and Japan (with the building of Russian military bases in the Kurils).
Before coming to that conclusion you need to ask yourself the question why NATO, a product of the Cold War, still exists in the first place despite the breakup of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact. Russia has proven that it is willing to respectfully cooperate with the US-led West, such as in containing nuclear proliferation and counterterrorism efforts in Central Asia. Unfortunately, we have yet to see the West return the favour:
- pledge to not expand eastward after German reunification is broken
- crippling Serbia, a traditional Russian ally under the false pretext of genocide during the Yugoslav Wars
- encouraging ill will against Russia in the former Soviet states
- giving the go ahead for Georgia to attack South Ossetia
- unilateral withdrawal of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002
- financial and moral backing for colour revolutions in former Soviet countries to expand America's sphere of influence and to win more military allies
- pushing a Russophobic agenda politically
- Jackson-Vanik amendment
- blocking of Russia's WTO entry
So Pakistan is a liability to China. Is China feeding us? Has China fought our wars? Does China need to step in to stop aggression against Pakistan? No. We are very much capable of all that and have been doing so... On the other hand Pakistan has resisted and failed encirclement of China in the early days, it helped bring US close to you when USSR turned against you and now is again helping you circumvent hostile countries with CPEC. Liability my foot.
I pray for China's sake that neocon wanna be like you are not representative of Chinese thinking in general.
Bear in mind that he is in fact German American, not Chinese.
Also, shout out to @Lure's contributions for providing us an insight on Turkey's turbulent history in domestic politics.
Russia unfairly excludes Chinese companies from huge Russian infrastructure projects
Japan and Germany are major suppliers of the multi-billion dollar Russian South Stream gas pipeline. Chinese companies were not allowed to bid.
Japan's Sumitomo is a major contractor in the Russian Gazprom South Stream gas pipeline across the Black Sea. Japan's "Marubeni-Itochu and Sumitomo" have a 40% work-share of the Gazprom South Stream gas pipeline.
Let Russia implore Japan and Germany to join its economic sanctions against Turkey. Chinese companies are unfairly excluded from Russian government procurement. The Russians stand alone. China should not join in any Russian sanctions against a third country. China simply does not have a stake. The Russians should ask Japan's Sumitomo and the Japanese government for help.
----------
"It ordered pipes from as far afield as Japan and Germany for the 2,400-kilometre (1,491-mile) South Stream pipeline..."
Turkey row leaves Russia stuck with abandoned gas pipes worth billions| Reuters
----------
China is excluded from the massive Russian gas pipeline project! China is not allowed to bid.
"Eleven groups bid on the project, with companies from Austria, Belgium, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia and Sweden vying for the contract."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/01/b...line-project-in-bulgaria-is-delayed.html?_r=0
----------
Japan's "Marubeni-Itochu and Sumitomo" have a 40% work-share of the Gazprom South Stream gas pipeline.
http://www.gazprom.com/press/news/2014/march/article186355/
There might be conflicting interests between the two nations but it is premature to argue that this is an indication that Putin is trying to double-cross China.
Turkey is part of China's railway transport network to Europe. Russia is not.
For 25 years, the Russians have always said "nyet" to China's proposals to build a railway transport route to Europe.
Instead, China has now formed a railway transport system to Europe via Central Asian states and Turkey.
In my opinion, Turkey is arguably a better business partner for China than Russia. The Russians have said "nyet" too many times. China should keep working with other countries, including Turkey.
----------
Agenda.ge - Cargo from China to Europe will pass through Georgia, bypassing Russia
"Turkey and China together with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia have formed a syndicate to transport cargo from China to Europe, bypassing Russia.
Representatives of large transport logistic operators from Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Lithuania signed a deal cementing the multi-national partnership on November 28, 2015 in Turkey, Istanbul."
It is true that China-Russia ties in commerce pales in comparison to business between China and the US, for instance, but it is very likely that we will see closer economic cooperation a, not just because of the anti-Russian sanctions.
The reality is that Putin and his fellow Russian citizens are in a deep recession with no end in sight. Part of the blame is due to Russia's difficult foreign policy problems.
You cannot just look at the positive aspects of Russian foreign policy. You must also look at the cost. The cost is that Putin and all Russians face a difficult and uncertain economic future.
China has virtually unlimited amounts of money. In sharp contrast, Russia is about to go broke. Tell me again which country has the better foreign policy.
----------
Russia's Putin Tightens Belt for Another Year With 10% Pay Cut | News | The Moscow Times
There are plenty of alternative partners for Russia and we have heard many stories in the past about the assumption that Russia's economy is bound to collapse. Those who believed in these were disappointed. Sanctions and the low oil prices are taking a toll but Moscow is doing a good job in handling the difficulties.
https://www.rt.com/business/322526-russia-apec-economy-investment/
Economics sanctions is a form of war waged by one country against another. The technical term is "economic warfare."
Russia wants Turkey's inexpensive food imports. Turkey controls access from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Turkey is a country of 80 million consumers. Russia has only suspended (but not canceled) talks on the South Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey to Europe.
It is puzzling to me that there seems to be strong support among some Chinese for Russia.
I am neither pro- or anti-Russia. Similarly, I am neither pro- or anti-Turkey. I am simply objective.
An impassioned analysis shows that there had been no bridge connecting China to Russia for 25 years (since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989). I think a railway bridge between China and Russia is being built or recently inaugurated. Nevertheless, there is still no bridge for cars or trucks.
Furthermore, there is no oil or gas pipeline from Russia to China. However, there is plenty of Russia oil and gas pipelines to Europe and Turkey. For 25 years, the Russians decided they would only sell their oil and gas to Europeans and Turks. China has to pay more for oil transported by rail cars.
Additionally, Russia was willing to give the Turks an 8% discount on gas sent to Turkey. In contrast, Iran played hardball with China and refused a 1.5% requested discount over a 30 year high-volume purchase. It is reasonable to assume that China requested an identical 1.5% discount from Russia. This was also refused by the Russians.
For the last 25 years, the Russians have given preferential trade privileges to Europeans and Turks. The Russians have played hardball with China.
China's economic allies are Turkmenistan, which currently supplies China with 30 bcm (ie. billion cubic meters) of gas via pipeline that is set to increase to 60 bcm in the next 3 years. Also, Kazakhstan is a reliable supplier of oil via pipeline. China has long-term contracts with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
In my view, China should use its political power on behalf of Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan. The Russians are only being nice to China temporarily, because the Russians currently have disputes with all of its preferential trade partners. The Russians had been putting the economic screws to China for 25 years. They are hardly China's ally. Once the disputes are settled, the Russians will go back to favoring European and Turkish business partners.
For example, the steel gas pipelines for South Stream have already been built. The contractors were Germans and Japanese. None were Chinese. The Russians have excluded Chinese contractors from large Russian projects.
Prior to the latest Russia-West crisis, not a single Chinese oil contractor had been invited to participate in Arctic oil drilling. All were western companies. Once again, Chinese companies were excluded by the Russians.
The Russians were very insistent on building pipelines to the Pacific Ocean. Russian oil and gas were to be sold on the world market. It is only the recent glut of oil supply and the rift with the West and Japan (because Japan joined Western sanctions against Russia) that Russia agreed to an oil and gas pipeline to China. The original Russian plan was to bypass China.
The Russian geopolitical strategy is pretty clear. Do everything possible to keep China weak. The Russians need China temporarily. However, the Russians have no intention of being China's long-term partner. It is unwise for China to throw its weight forcefully behind Russia.
The better plan is to continue the long-term Chinese foreign policy. China remains neutral.
I find it interesting that you are using 'the Russians', so to me you seem to imply that the Kremlin consists of Sinophobes in disguise. To my mind it would be viable for Russia to adopt an anti-China policy IF it had the full backing of NATO, America's MNNAs and other states that are at odds with China. But I only see this happening if pro-West puppets were to take over the Kremlin after a colour revolution which has become highly improbable since the NGO law was enacted. The puppeteers of these pro-West politicians would be the hawks in Washington, London or another NATO member, the same forces that want both Russia and China to bend their knees. Putin knows their intentions very well and he has more often than not faced them.
Putin is a very pragmatic leader who enjoys a very high level of popularity, thus I am sure that his successor will likely follow his footsteps and it is impossible for pro-West liberals to win the people's hearts, contrary to the narrative in Western MSM. And no, it is not because the average Russian is brainwashed to worship Putin. Backstabbing China would indeed harm both nations but given the current geopolitical state of affairs Russia would commit suicide, hence it would pay a much higher price than China so it is ridiculously daft for the Kremlin to do so right now and in the foreseenable future. And here's a rule of thumb for you:
Pragmatic Russians see China as a strong and reliable partner.
Pragmatic Chinese see Russia as a strong and reliable partner.
Yes, Putin and Xi fall in their individual category. A possible motive for an anti-China stance on the part of Russia may be explained by the uneasy history between China and Russia in the end, pragmatism prevails over nationalism and blind grudges.