The China-Russia border city of Heihe where harmony lies
If you want to understand the China-Russia relationship, the frozen border city of Heihe is a good place to start.
It is a bleak, bitterly cold place, even at this time of year.
Its most impressive feature by far is the sweeping, frozen Heilongjiang river that hugs it. On the other side is Russia.
It’s a place that’s much quieter than it used to be. COVID, a closed border and then a sanction-induced squeeze on Russia’s economy have stifled much of the previously booming tourist trade.
Prior to the pandemic, there was a lot of cross-border activity, with Chinese groups heading north to experience Siberia and Russians coming the other way.
Xi Jinping, accompanied by Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Chernyshenko upon his arrival in Moscow
Lots of people living in the border towns would regularly cross to go shopping, do business or socialise.
But despite the drop in traffic, signs of that close affinity are everywhere here, from the imposing Russian architecture to the Russian stores stacked with vodka, Russian dolls and (Vladimir) Lenin motif merchandise.
Mr Jia runs one such shop filled with faux and real fur hats and gloves.
The friendship is a good one, he says. He previously lived in Russia and Russians are his customers and his friends.
“They are nice and straightforward,” he remarks with a smile.
It’s a view that’s common here, as is his take on the war in Ukraine, the opinion that Russia isn’t entirely to blame.
“Wars have to be fought for a reason,” he says after pausing for thought.
“No one goes to war if they don’t have to. Some things are like having a ticking time bomb next to your pillow, and it’s not going to be easy to sleep.”
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It is an opinion encouraged in China, the true horror of the war and who perpetrated it is largely censored here.
Indeed, China has trodden a very careful path throughout the conflict, never overtly condemning or condoning the invasion while insisting it is best placed to play peacemaker.
But it has quietly been providing Russia with finance, technology and diplomatic cover and the West now fears it could go further.
There are signs of that tacit support everywhere in Heihe and reminders of why China might want to maintain it.
The best example perhaps runs under our feet – the huge pipes that carry Russian gas into China.
Heihe is the entry point for the Power of Siberia 1 gas pipeline and China is now buying more of this gas than ever before, compensating Russia for much of the trade it has lost with Europe.
Further up the river, there is also an enormous bridge that facilitates the trade in commodities that still flows between the two.
It is also a reminder that this vast border is peaceful. It hasn’t always been the case and battles gone by destroyed communities around here. Maintaining today’s peace allows both sides to focus resources elsewhere.
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Xi Jinping lands in Moscow
‘No one else wants to be friends with us’
It is at this bridge we meet Slava, a Russian truck driver who lives just on the other side of the river.
He has driven to and from China for many years and spoke with unusual frankness about the position Russians are in.
“There is no one else,” he says about the incoming help from China. “No one else wants to be friends with us.
“Europe doesn’t want to work with us or be friends, so we have our neighbours left to work with. They give us work. We give them work. That’s it.”
“I hope they don’t send us to war,” he adds. “That’s the problem, Ukraine, you know? Ukraine.”
Indeed, while this relationship is nothing short of a lifeline to Russia, it offers huge value to China too that goes far beyond trade.
Crucially Russia offers China a like-minded ally in what it sees as a reshaping of the world order and its ever-increasing power struggle with America.
In short, a defeated Russia and a united, victorious West would be damaging to President Xi’s vision for an ascendant China.
That’s the bigger picture here, the standoff that’s pushing two neighbours closer.
China knows Xi’s visit to Moscow speaks volumes, it’s a big gesture he’s chosen to go regardless.
China is still treading its careful path, but be in no doubt, its number one interest is China.
World
‘Better late than never’: Palestinian minister says UK recognition of state would be ‘courageous step’
Britain will be taking “a courageous step at a very difficult time” by officially recognising a Palestinian state, according to the authority’s foreign minister, who told Sky News she believes the announcement – expected in the coming days – will inspire more nations to follow suit.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian, told me Britain’s move was “better late than never”, and said “Britain, with its weight, can influence other countries to come forward and recognise, because that is the right thing to do”.
But she also said she is “very angry” with the White House over its “unwavering support” for Israel, and said that Israel’s refusal to pass on tax revenue was pushing Palestinian civil society to the brink of “collapse”.
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Could recognition of Palestine change the West Bank?
Aghabekian was speaking as Britain, along with France, Canada and Australia, prepares to recognise the State of Palestine officially at the United Nations.
She told me: “Britain has been supporting the existence and the flourishing of Israel for some time, but I think today Britain is looking at the matter objectively, in terms of the right of people, in terms of complying with international law, and in terms of the future of this area for both the Israelis and Palestinians.”
She rejected the idea that recognising Palestine was a reward for Hamas terrorism, saying that “non-recognition” would also be a “reward to the extremists” and said that “if we wait until Israel decides it wants to go into negotiations with the Palestinians, then it won’t happen”.
Aghabekian told me she expected Gaza to be returned to the Palestinians, but I put it to her that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was being empowered by the diplomatic support he receives from America, and in particular, US President Donald Trump.
So is she angry with the White House? “Very angry, because I expect the White House and the United States of America to align with international law, with human rights, with having no double standards.
“This unwavering support for Israel, this blind support, is not only harming the Palestinians but also Israeli society.”
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The state of Palestine is already recognised by three-quarters of the United Nations’ members. It comprises two separate territories – the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Together, they are officially known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The West Bank has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, while Gaza has been attacked by Israel since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, when nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 people were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza as Israel has sought to destroy Hamas and recover its hostages. There are 48 hostages still in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
She confirmed to me that Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, “has given guarantees in letters to various leaders around the globe that said Hamas will not be part of the governance of the Gaza Strip” and insisted there was “probably a worldwide consensus” on the topic.
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How has UK responded to Israel-Gaza conflict?
But she also insisted it was “not reasonable” to talk of completely erasing Hamas: “Hamas is an ideology, not a building that you bring down. Hamas is in people’s minds; in their heads.
“Those who support Hamas need to see a future, need to see something that is moving on the political level, need to see that there might be a state in which their children and their grandchildren might prosper.
“What people see today, whether they are Hamas supporters or not, they see darkness and they see destruction all over. They see violation of rights. They are helpless and hopeless. People need to see things are moving forward, and once that happens, there will be a shift in the mood, and they will look for a better future.”
But just as the Palestinians prepare to welcome recognition, Aghabekian said the West Bank was facing financial collapse as Israel continues to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue that, under a 30-year-old agreement, it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf.
Israel has retained a proportion of the money since the start of the war in Gaza, but, encouraged by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, it has recently withheld a much higher amount.
“People have not been paid, civil servants are only receiving small parts of their salaries. We can’t buy medical supplies, equipment, you name it,” said Aghabekian.
“How can a government run a country under such conditions? So yes, we are very worried.”
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