How can the new type of major country relationship between China and Russia be stable and far-reaching after 25 years of treaty building?
2026-07-16
July 16, 2026, is a memorable day in the history of China Russia relations -25 years ago, China and Russia solemnly signed the "Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation" in Moscow, legally engraving the peace concept of "eternal friendship and never being enemies" between the two countries on the historical coordinates.
Twenty five years have passed in a blink of an eye. In 2026, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China Russia strategic partnership, the two heads of state jointly launched the "China Russia Education Year". From the breakthrough exploration at the turn of the century to the stable and far-reaching development in the new era, this treaty not only laid a solid foundation for China Russia relations, but also demonstrated a new path of great power coexistence for the world.
Treaty Escort: From Quantity Accumulation to Quality Leap
The primary criterion for measuring the vitality of a treaty is whether it can promote the development of bilateral relations and enhance the friendship between the two peoples. Over the past 25 years, guided by the spirit of the treaty, China Russia cooperation in various fields has achieved a leap from quantitative to qualitative changes.
Economic and trade cooperation is the most intuitive footnote to the vitality of treaties. The bilateral trade volume between China and Russia has surged from 10.67 billion US dollars in 2001 to 228.1 billion US dollars in 2025, breaking through the 200 billion US dollar mark for three consecutive years. China has remained Russia's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the trade volume between China and Russia reached 109.5 billion US dollars in the first five months of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 22.9%. Energy cooperation plays a "ballast stone" role - the China Russia crude oil pipeline continues to operate stably, and the "Siberian Power" gas pipeline has transported over 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas cumulatively. In 2025, Russia will deliver 38.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China through this pipeline, surpassing its supply to Europe for the first time, marking China as the largest export market for Russian natural gas.
In the field of interconnectivity, the Tongjiang Railway Bridge and Heihe Highway Bridge have been completed successively, and the proportion of China Europe freight trains passing through Russia exceeds 70%. In terms of security cooperation, the China Russia "maritime joint" exercise mechanism has undergone more than ten years of practice and has become an important platform for enhancing strategic mutual trust and improving joint action capabilities. In July 2026, the "Joint Maritime Exercise 2026" between China and Russia was held in the sea and air areas near Qingdao, with the theme of "Joint Response to Maritime Security Threats", further deepening practical cooperation between the two militaries.
These fruitful achievements fully prove that China Russia cooperation has a continuous endogenous driving force, precisely because the treaty has excluded the zero sum logic of "who leads, who obeys" from the beginning, established the basic principles of equality, mutual benefit, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and allowed both sides to find the intersection of interests in every cooperation project.
The road is not alone: forging a new paradigm of great power relations
The core essence of the new path of great power relations between China and Russia, which relies on the Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, is "non alignment, non confrontation, and non targeting of third parties". This principle may seem simple, but it is actually a rewriting of the logic of hundreds of years of international relations history.
In traditional great power relations, alliance and confrontation are like two sides of a coin: alliance inevitably points to a third party, and confrontation inevitably accompanies zero sum games. And China and Russia have established a new paradigm beyond traditional military and political alliances in legal form. The two countries adhere to the principles of equal treatment, mutual respect, upholding justice, and win-win cooperation, and firmly support each other on issues involving each other's core interests, while maintaining their respective strategic autonomy. It is precisely through such institutional innovation that China and Russia provide the most powerful counter evidence to the determinism of the "Thucydides Trap".
At the global level, the joint statement issued by China and Russia on advocating world multipolarity and a new type of international relations indicates that the two countries will firmly promote world multipolarity within the framework of comprehensive strategic cooperation. Both sides closely coordinate and cooperate on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the BRICS countries, and issue strong statements of fairness and justice on major international and regional issues. The new type of major country relationship between China and Russia provides a valuable "Chinese solution" for the international community to learn from - confrontation is not the fate of major countries, cooperation and win-win is the right path for the world.
Continuing the past and opening up the future: Opportunities and challenges coexist at a new starting point
Standing at the historical milestone of the 25th anniversary, the renewal of the treaty has further solidified the institutional foundation of China Russia "back-to-back" strategic cooperation through legal commitments. Looking towards the future, multiple strategic opportunities are intersecting and overlapping.
In terms of strategic planning coordination, 2026 coincides with the beginning of China's 15th Five Year Plan. The two heads of state witnessed the signing of 20 cooperation documents in the fields of economy, trade, education, science and technology. The launch of the "China Russia Education Year" is the tenth national theme year of the two countries, and both sides will hold over 100 activities.
At present, there are over 60000 Chinese students studying in Russia and over 20000 Russian students studying in China. The two countries are steadily moving towards the long-term goal of sending 100000 students to each other by 2030. 87.5% of Russian youth and 85.5% of Chinese youth support the development of the friendly cause between the two countries - the will of the people, which is the deepest foundation for the stable and far-reaching development of bilateral relations.
At the same time, external challenges cannot be ignored. The economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia still faces multiple challenges, such as the need to optimize the trade structure, external sanctions transmitting pressure, and the Western narrative of "disrupting the international order". But these challenges precisely highlight the necessity and urgency of deepening strategic cooperation between China and Russia. Both sides need to promote the expansion of cooperation from traditional fields to emerging fields, shift from government led to multi-party participation, and cultivate new growth poles in new fields such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, and cross-border e-commerce.
After 25 years of wind and rain, a treaty was established to build a foundation and a cauldron. From Red Square in Moscow to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, from the interconnectivity of the China Russia border to joint patrols deep in the Pacific, the new type of major power relationship between China and Russia has embarked on a broad path of "non alignment, non confrontation, and non targeting of third parties" under the guidance of the treaty.
I will mount a long wind some day and break the heavy waves, and set my cloudy sail straight and bridge the deep, deep sea. Standing at a new historical starting point, the relationship between China and Russia will surely move steadily and steadily under the guidance of the spirit of the treaty, bringing more benefits to the two peoples and injecting valuable stability expectations and development confidence into the turbulent and changing world. (Outlook New Era)
(The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Eurasian Studies, China Institute of Modern International Relations)
Edit：Luoyu Responsible editor：Wang Xiaojing
Source：china.com.cn
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