China proud of having good relations with Pakistan, Russia

China is proud of having good relations with its neighbouring countries, most particularly with Pakistan and Russia.

“Of the 20 neighbouring countries, China has good relations with the majority, especially Pakistan and Russia. The main issues come from two countries – Japan and the Philippines,” said Jin Canrong, a senior official of the Centre for American Studies at the Renmin University of China in a media’s briefing.

It has been the China’s consistent policy to avoid conflicts and disputes in bilateral relations. China always stands for peaceful resolution of its disputes, even with those of Philippines and Japan, he said adding his country attached special importance its relations with its neighbours to achieve common agenda of peace and development.

Pakistan is the best example in a country-to-country relationship both at official and people-to-people level. Meanwhile, Sino-Japanese ties plunged to a new low after Japan “nationalised” the disputed Diaoyu Islands in 2012. Although China and Japan managed to control the situation over the past two years, tensions have been on the rise recently after Japan insinuated itself into the South China Sea disputes, urging China to ‘respect the verdict.’

“Of all the peripheral issues, he viewed the Korean Peninsula will remain a key focus of attention as North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to China’s security whether directly or potentially,” Jia Qingguo, Dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University, told the Global Times.

“As for the East and South China Seas, we need to better manage the differences and prevent it from affecting China’s overall diplomacy and China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative,” Jia noted.

Analysts said China’s foreign policy is becoming more proactive under transformations prompted by the changing domestic and external environments. China’s peripheral diplomacy this year may look more complicated with the South China Sea ruling and the deployment of a US defence shield on the Korean Peninsula, but the overall situation remains under control, analysts said.

“It may be too early to draw any conclusions on how things will pan out, as we are yet to see what effect the G20 will have, but the situation this year is definitely more complicated than in previous years. Some issues have been imposed on us against our will,” Jin Canrong added.

China is hosting the G20 summit from September 4-5 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. The meeting has been described as the ‘biggest diplomatic event of the year’ for China. On the sidelines of the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to hold bilateral talks with several visiting heads of states, including US President Barack Obama. “China wishes to stabilise Sino-US relations before Obama leaves the Oval Office.

With Sino-US ties stabilised, China would have at least half of its geopolitical environment under control,” Jin said. In July, the US and South Korea announced their decision to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea by the end of next year as deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.

The decision has met strong opposition from China and Russia as THAAD can be also used as a radar to spy on neighbouring countries’ activities.

As for the South China Sea disputes and the rifts they have caused between China and certain Southeast Asian countries, analysts said China has been working hard to de-escalate the tensions, including efforts to prevent it from coming between China’s relations with ASEAN as a whole as well as an open invitation from the Chinese foreign ministry for the Philippine president’s special envoy Fidel Ramos to visit Beijing.

“Believing China is now strong and powerful, many no longer wish to put aside disputes as they used to and want to consolidate their interests with the help of the US,” Jin said.