The Diplomat: "The Union of Russia and China could cause the collapse of the US hegemony"

The international publication The Diplomat writes about the relations between Russia and China, which pose a threat to the West. Russian-Chinese relations are under strict monitoring of the USA and its allies, as the union of these two powers is the greatest challenge to the Western world.

Since the end of the 2000s, Moscow and Beijing have taken a number of steps to offset the existing international order in their favor for a number of global and regional issues. The new multilateral institutions have been set up (such as  BRICS and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, AIIB), both countries have the same position with respect to the foreign policy pursued by the West, and the attitude to international crises is similar in both countries. Moscow and Beijing have consistently opposed the planting of so-called democracy with the help of ‘color revolutions’ under the US leadership. Such a proximity of Russia with China, according to the many Western analysts, could cause a collapse of US hegemony in the world.

Another argument confirming this opinion is the fact that the anti-Western alliance has arisen in the absence of any formal military-political alliance between Moscow and Beijing. Despite some differences in relation to international policy, the countries continue their convergence, and it is likely that Europe will sooner or later replace the transatlantic vector with the Russian-Chinese one, which would be very beneficial for all the parties except the United States.

Russian-Chinese cooperation continues to grow even in the conditions of the global crisis. China is the largest buyer of Russian oil, and the construction of the gas pipeline ‘Power of Siberia’ along with the project ‘Silk Road’ will give impetus to economic cooperation. Beijing and Moscow have all grounds to confront the ‘new world disorder’ due to the consolidation of efforts and competent foreign policy. However, the US is considering the two countries and their growing cooperation solely as a problem and a threat to their hegemonic plans. It is clear that such an attitude of the American leadership to the two powerful world powers once again underlines the fragility and inconsistency of Washington's position in the world.

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The British publication The Daily Mail writes that Europe sees salvation in Russia. Brussels has abruptly changed its tactics towards Moscow, suddenly realizing that the Russian government could be a key in addressing the migrant crisis in Europe. While the EU is ready to allocate 4.7 billion pounds to Turkey to help stem the flow of refugees, senior officials of the Union are also considering making a deal with Russia.

Due to the ongoing conflict in Syria, the flow of internally displaced persons does not stop, which is why the European Commission decided to urgently look for the possibility of negotiations with the Russian government at the EU leaders’ meeting behind closed doors in Brussels last month.

Turkey, via which the majority of migrants come to Europe, has increased several times the list of its demands to the EU in exchange for help in overcoming the crisis. In this regard, the European community faces the need to find new partners to address the acute problem of refugees. However, the talks with Vladimir Putin’s government may be complicated by such factors as Brussels extending sanctions against Russia in December 2015, and many high-ranking officials in the EU have criticized the Kremlin's actions in Syria. Nevertheless, the fear of a new influx of migrants from the East means that Europe somehow has to start negotiations with Moscow in the very near future.