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China's Economic Might vs. Russia's Strategic Value: What Beijing Gains from Moscow
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News18•23-09-2026, 14:49
China's Economic Might vs. Russia's Strategic Value: What Beijing Gains from Moscow
- •Despite China's economy being eight times larger than Russia's, Moscow offers Beijing irreplaceable strategic assets like secure energy links, military expertise, nuclear power, and Eurasian influence.
- •Russia provides China with secure overland energy links, major military and nuclear capabilities, a permanent UN Security Council seat, and significant influence across Eurasia, making it strategically indispensable.
- •Russia is a key partner in Sinocentric forums like BRICS and SCO, and possesses a vast nuclear arsenal, powerful conventional military, and large defense industry, along with extensive oil and gas reserves.
- •The Russia-China partnership has deepened, with Russia becoming a major supplier of energy to China and China replacing Europe as a supplier of manufactured goods to Russia, boosting bilateral trade.
- •For India, the strengthening China-Russia partnership raises questions about its own strategic maneuvering space between Moscow, Beijing, and Washington, despite its strong ties with Russia and deepening relations with the US.
Key Questions Answered
Despite China having an economy eight times the size of Russia's, Moscow offers Beijing secure overland energy links, a nuclear arsenal of roughly 5,500 warheads, military expertise, a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and influence across Eurasia.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, bilateral trade rose 55% between 2021 and 2025, exceeding the two countries' $200 billion trade target set in 2019.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to strengthen their strategic partnership with a target to take bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, with 96% of trade settled in rupees and roubles.
