China-Russia-India: A New
Step for 'Survivors Club'
by Rainer Apel and Paul Gallagher
Ignore the nonsense coming from Zbigniew Brzezinski and his geopolitical ilk, denigrating the Russia-China friendship treaty signed at the July 15-16 summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Jiang Zemin. The summit, with its included agreement to a treaty focussed on economic cooperation, is a very significant step toward a "survivors club" of nations against the global economic collapse, and toward the building of the Eurasian land-bridges of economic infrastructure. Developments around this summit vindicate not Brzezinski, Kissinger et al., but Lyndon LaRouche, whose economic ideas and interventions in key Eurasian countries continue to shape the process.
Perhaps the clearest sign of the potentially historic events occurring, was the near-simultaneous announcement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry of a new policy toward cooperation of Russia, China, and India—a policy shift which the Press Trust of India (PTI) called a century-shaping development. This not only reflects LaRouche's "Survivors Club" conception, but revives the specific "Strategic Triangle" formulation of it by then-Russian Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov in 1999—rejected at the time, and harshly attacked by Anglo-American geopoliticians.
The spokeswoman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhang Qiyue, declared on July 16, in Moscow, "We hope to further strengthen the cooperation with Russia and India. On many international issues, China, Russia and India have similar or near-identical stand and concerns." In its exclusive report on this, PTI wrote: "In what could be the most important political development in the post-Cold War period, China has shed its initial inhibitions to form a strategic triangle along with India and Russia."
Many Chinese scholars stress the need for enhanced cooperation among China, Russia and India to ensure a multipolar world and a new international political and economic order, PTI wrote. Furthermore, "Preparing ground for a tie-up that has potential for far-reaching global ramifications, scholars from the three nations are scheduled to meet in Moscow in September to find ways and means to cooperate and explore a common approach.... The idea for a 'strategic triangle' was originally conceived by former Russian Premier Yevgeni Primakov."
New Russia-China Relations
The principles of the new state-to-state relations of Russia and China were spelled out by Jiang Zemin at a speech at Moscow Lomonosov State University, following the summit. "Under the guidelines of the treaty," Jiang said, "I believe Sino-Russian relations will be developed to a higher level in the new century." He termed economic cooperation the most important aspect of this strategic partnership; and cited the Shanghai Cooperation Organization set up in June by China, Russia, and four of the Central Asian Republics, as an illustration of new principles of inter-state relations. Thus far, there had been no moves to bring India or Pakistan into the Shanghai alignment.
Besides the Russia-China-India potential, There are two other central aspects of the friendship treaty. First, a 20-year Good Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, which was characterized as a "model for for future relations among sovereign nations in the 21st Century." On the basis of common desire for peace, the mutual respect for full sovereignty, and the desire for peaceful relations with other nations, the following was agreed upon:
"The two sides, on the basis of mutual benefit, are developing cooperation in the spheres of trade and the economy, military-technological cooperation, the areas of science, energy and transportation, nuclear energy, [and others].... The military and military-technological cooperation between the two sides is not directed against any third party.... The two sides are taking steps to strengthen the central role of the United Nations as the most authoritative and universal international organization. The UN Security Council holds the utmost responsibility for supporting international peace and stability...." The two "underline the principal importance of the ABM agreement, which remains the cornerstone of strategic stability and the basis for reducing strategic arms forces, and reaffirm their support of the treaty in its current form."
Second, the Chinese president elaborated somehwat more on the foundations of the friendship treaty, in his Lomonosov University address. He identified four key points in Russian-Chinese cooperation:
- "China will, as always, support Russia in its efforts to invigorate its national economy and safeguard its rights and interests.... China will never do anything detrimental to the interests of Russia." He said he was convinced that Russia will support China in its economic modernization drive and in its effort to enhance the cohesion of the nation.
- Common economic development of Russia and China, by both nations making fuller use of their potentials, their geographic proximity, and complementarity of their economic systems. They will increase their cooperation not only in trade, but also in science and technology, energy, transport, aerospace, telecom, and information technology.
- Cultural exchange, making use of the riches of the long cultural history of either side: Russia's great minds like Pushkin are well-read in China, as are China's great minds like Confucius in Russia. "We should widen the channels of Sino-Russian cultural exchanges, to make both Russian and Chinese civilizations learn from each other and achieve common progress."
- Strategic cooperation to enhance peace and stability in the world, also in view of the right to development, of the developing-sector nations. Russia and China bear responsibility for the entire world, through their permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council and their role in international organizations, not least in the newly created Shanghai Cooperation Organization. "The world needs peace, peoples want cooperation, countries want development, and societies want progress—this is the trend of our times."
President Putin stressed to the press after the Chinese President's speech, that it had been an extremely significant event. The speech, he said, had been addressed directly to the students, as the "future Russian generation," whose task would be to deepen Russia's relations to China and to the rest of the world.
The "Strategic Triangle" then, advanced by LaRouche over years as a cornerstone of Eurasian land-bridge development, and later proposed to China and India by Primakov, is coming into existence. An interesting and material signal, was China's new order of ten Tupolev civilian aircraft from Russia—an order that Boeing had firmly been counting on.
