Lanxin Xiang, Director of the Center of the One Belt One Road and Eurasian Security in Shanghai, talks about Chinese-Russian relations and the evolution of China’s foreign policy.
He noted that while China was previously a G1 country, focusing on unilateral action, it began to shift its positions in latter years.
Xiang noted that the turn toward a more multilateral foreign policy began in 2003, at the outbreak of the Iraq War, when Beijing saw that France, Germany and Russia were united in opposing the US invasion.
The event showed to China that the West is not a single entity and it is possible to negotiate with its members.
Valdai Discussion Club, 25 février 2017