Noise of threat: Russia and China have compared watches on strategic security

The unprecedented level of cooperation between Russia and China does not suit the West, said Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu. On December 2, bilateral consultations on strategic security were held with the participation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Moscow and Beijing are working on the implementation of agreements in this area at the highest level, the minister said. Against the background of regional threats, the parties are ready to jointly defend the results of the Second World War in order to prevent the strengthening of militarism. Shoigu also confirmed Beijing's support on the sensitive issues of Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Military—technical cooperation and coordination of special services are also on the agenda of the negotiations. China is interested in Russia's experience in missile defense and missile attack warning, experts say. Where Moscow and Beijing have the greatest points of contact is in the Izvestia article.

Shoigu's meeting with Wang Yi

December 2 in Moscow is rich in important political events. While the capital, and the rest of the world, are awaiting the main talks of the day — Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff — another significant meeting took place in the Security Council. At the invitation of Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived on a visit to participate in the 20th round of Russian-Chinese consultations on strategic security.

On the eve of the minister's arrival, the press service of the Security Council noted that it was the first time they had seen such a large number of journalists here. Indeed, there weren't even enough seats in the press room. Although the impressive number of Chinese press is not surprising. Perhaps, high-ranking guests from China in Russia are always accompanied by the largest pool.

Before the official part, the organizers "rehearsed" Shoigu and Wang's handshake in order to prepare for filming as best as possible. The Security Council Secretary had to wait for the Chinese guest for some time, but after meeting, the politicians warmly greeted each other, patting each other on the back, and the apparent tension evaporated.

In general, the Security Council often holds meetings with Chinese colleagues, which underlines the high level of the countries' strategic partnership in the field of security. In particular, in May, at the invitation of Sergei Shoigu, Chen Wenqing, Secretary of the Political and Legal Commission of the CPC Central Committee, arrived in Moscow. Following the meeting, he called Beijing's relations with Moscow "exemplary." According to him, China and Russia jointly resist "any attempts to damage sovereignty, security and development interests." And this time, the Secretary of the Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, emphasized:

— Not everyone in the West is satisfied with the fact that the relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China have reached an unprecedented high level in their entire history.

The high level of cooperation between Russia and China in this area is the foundation of the emerging polycentric world order. In addition, the strong Russian-Chinese partnership makes it possible to limit the influence of the United States and the countries of the collective West in a number of regions, said Sergey Lukonin, head of the Economic and political sector of China at the IMEMO RAS.

Moreover, Moscow and Beijing continue to work on the implementation of agreements at the highest level on strategic security, Wang Yi said at the meeting. Policy coordination between the SCO and BRICS plays an important role in these issues. Joint work at these sites leads to ensuring the necessary strategic security throughout Eurasia, Alexander Yershov, a researcher at the Center for the Study of the Modern History of China and its Relations with Russia at the ICSA RAS, tells Izvestia.

Next year, China and Russia will celebrate nothing less than the 30th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership.

"It has evolved from joint military exercises on the territory of Russia and China to joint and regular military patrols in different environments adjacent to Russia and China," said political analyst Viktor Pirozhenko.

In particular, in August, for the first time, the countries conducted joint underwater naval patrols in the waters of the Asia-Pacific region. Diesel-electric submarines of the Russian Navy and the Chinese Navy took part in them.

Cooperation is developing in the military and military-technical fields, about which, for obvious reasons, not much is known. For example, Russia, based on its own experience, is helping China create a modern missile attack warning system. The parties, of course, also touched upon the interaction between law enforcement agencies and special services. During the period of our military operation, our Chinese colleagues are, of course, interested in our military experience in conducting real combat operations using high-tech weapons, Viktor Pirozhenko is sure.

Challenges for Russia and China

The geopolitical situation in the world has not become easier, which required "us to check the clock," Sergei Shoigu said at the meeting. Therefore, the parties immediately touched upon issues of international and regional security, including the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, which has recently become the scene of geopolitical confrontation between leading countries, primarily China and the United States, with the involvement of regional allies, not to mention the current conflicts. And given the strategic nature of the consultations, it is important to calculate the risks not only in the short term. Especially in such a landmark year for both countries. In 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping jointly celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory over German Nazism and Japanese militarism in Moscow and Beijing, respectively.

— In some European countries and Japan, there is a desire to take revenge for past defeats. The hydra of militarism is rearing its head again. But Moscow and China have accumulated sufficient experience in cutting them off. We will not allow the revival of criminal regimes in Europe and Tokyo," Sergei Shoigu said at the meeting.

In this context, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council stressed that both countries are determined to defend the results of World War II, and also confirmed Beijing's consistent and unwavering support for Taiwan, as well as Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong — there are forces in these regions that advocate separation from China.

Moreover, there are more and more new challenges. For example, recently, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, openly taking a course towards the militarization of the country, allowed Tokyo to intervene in the event of an escalation around the Taiwan issue - Beijing, of course, sharply warned against attempts to encroach on China's sovereignty.

"China has its own security problems in the region, the source of which is the same as Russia's — attempts to restore the hegemony of the United States and the West, together with their allies in Southeast Asia, which manifest themselves in encouraging Taiwanese separatists and in the revival of Japanese militarism," Viktor Pirozhenko drew attention.

Now the United States has added reasons for concern in the field of global security rather than regional security. Donald Trump's recent decision to launch nuclear tests has sparked a flurry of reactions and discussions. However, this is a rather long—term question - it is estimated that the tests may take decades. What is relevant right now is nuclear disarmament. On September 22, Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Federation was ready to voluntarily comply with the START Treaty restrictions for another year — the contract expires in February 2026. However, there has still been no clear reaction from the United States.

At the same time, Washington is obviously dragging its feet by trying to involve China, which has accumulated at least 600 nuclear warheads, in negotiations on strategic stability. However, Beijing has repeatedly stressed that it has not even reached the limits set by the START Treaty, not to mention the enormous potential of Russia and the United States (4,309 and 3,700, respectively). Moscow respects this position and does not raise the issue of China necessarily joining the dialogue on strategic stability between the members of the nuclear Five, unlike the Western members of the club. In addition, Putin stressed that in this matter it is necessary to take into account the combined arsenal of NATO, that is, France and Great Britain. Experts agree that after achieving quantitative parity with Moscow and Washington, Beijing could indeed engage in a dialogue on nuclear disarmament. However, it is not at all clear how all this can be put into practice in the near future.

China's involvement in solving another strategically important issue, the Ukrainian crisis, is more likely. Beijing has always advocated a settlement, proposed its own peace initiatives, and even created a platform to find ways to resolve the conflict — we are talking about the Friends of the World joint platform with Brazil. By the way, as Celso Amorim, the chief adviser to the Brazilian president, told Izvestia in September, a new meeting of participants is being prepared. It is possible that Sergei Shoigu and Wang Yi raised this issue against the background of Witkoff's arrival.