2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship

History

The treaty was signed by Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 16 July 2001 in Moscow. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China approved the treaty on 27 October 2001. It was also ratified by Russia's State Duma on 26 December 2001, the Federation Council on 16 January 2002, and by President Vladimir Putin on 25 January 2002. On 28 February 2002, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Guchang and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov exchanged instruments of force in Beijing, formally bringing the treaty into force.

On 28 June 2021, Russia and China extended the treaty for another 5 years after its expiration in February 2022.

Overview

The treaty outlines the broad strokes which are to serve as a basis for peaceful relations, economic cooperation, as well as diplomatic and geopolitical reliance.

Article 9 of the treaty can be seen as an implicit defense pact similar to NATO's Article 5. Article 9 states "When a situation arises in which one of the contracting parties deems that peace is being threatened and undermined or its security interests are involved or when it is confronted with the threat of aggression, the contracting parties shall immediately hold contacts and consultations in order to eliminate such threats."

Other articles (A7 and A16) point at increasing military cooperation, including the sharing of "military know-how" (A16).

The treaty also encompasses a mutual, cooperative approach to environmental technology regulations and energy conservation; and toward international finance and trade. The document affirms Russia's stand on Taiwan as "an inalienable part of China" (A5), and highlights the commitment to ensure the "national unity and territorial integrity" in the two countries (A4). The treaty includes a no first use clause for the two nations against each other.

According to Paul Stronski and Nicole Ng of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "the greatest threat to the West of the Sino-Russian partnership emanates from their efforts to adjust the international system to their advantage".

References

References

1. "Insight on the News: China and Russia Align Against U.S - sign Sino-Russian Friendship Treaty; United States".
2. (27 October 2001). "全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于批准《中华人民共和国和俄罗斯联邦睦邻友好合作条约》的决定".
3. "Федеральный закон от 25.01.2002 N 9-ФЗ "О ратификации Договора о добрососедстве, дружбе и сотрудничестве между Российской Федерацией и Китайской Народной Республикой"".
4. (28 February 2002). "中俄互换批准书 《中俄睦邻友好合作条约》正式生效". [[Sina Corporation]].
5. (28 June 2021). "Russia, China extend friendship and cooperation treaty -Kremlin". [[Reuters]].
6. "Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation".
7. (2018-02-28). "Cooperation and Competition: Russia and China in Central Asia, the Russian Far East, and the Arctic".