Guest Post: Speedbox – Reds under the beds and beware the yellow peril


When I was a young child at school in the early 1960s we were warned of “reds under the beds” and “beware the yellow peril”.  I doubt these were the official policy of the Education Department in South Australia but I recall at least one teacher earnestly stating those maxims to our impressionable young minds.

As we observe the blossoming relationship between Russia and China, the relevance of those warnings by my primary school teacher take on enhanced significance.

Most recently, we have all noted the remarks by President Xi and President Putin that Sino-Russian relations are “at their best time in history” and that there were “no limits” to the relationship.

Of course, Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine will pressure-test the relationship but the truth is that there is much more that binds Moscow and Beijing than divides them.

President Putin regards China as the dominant economic and military superpower of the future and wants to leverage Russia’s side of the relationship, whilst slapping the west as he does so.  President Xi sees a vast and immensely resource rich neighbour that is relatively sparsely populated and led by a man whose global and domestic viewpoint is not entirely different from his own.  Sure, there are some differences, but those can be managed.

As it happens, Moscow and Beijing also have similar annoyances about the west.  The Chinese are frustrated that they do not receive the recognition and respect they feel they deserve as a great power.  Similarly, Moscow has long been annoyed at the manner the US, in particular, meddles in issues impacting Russia and is almost dismissive of Russia’s security concerns and sphere of influence.  Both nations feel that the US and her allies talk down to them and if the west had their way, China and Russia would merely be the back-water sweatshops or global quarry of the west.

Both Russia and China are mystified, not to mention bemused, that the west would squander its supremacy so easily on the litany of socially progressive policies that pander to non-productive (and morally questionable) agendas that weaken the west economically and militarily.  The west, in their view, has fallen for the doctrine of ‘soft power’ without the hard power to back it up.  The creation of ‘red lines’, only to allow those lines to melt away, has both intrigued and baffled them.

President Xi is convinced that China’s ‘moment in time’ is fast approaching and that a resurgent east will soon dominate a declining west – and this belief is shared by Putin.  China is flexing its rising capacity with increasing belligerence, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region and it’s clear that western warnings to Russia didn’t dissuade Putin from entering the Ukraine.

For her part, Russia is looking to fully exploit its vast resources and that pivot was well underway prior to the Ukrainian invasion.  Whilst the west has halted any engagement, China has no such compunction and this is a long term strategy.  It suits both nations to establish supply lines that are sheltered from western interference.  To this end, for example, Russia and China now trade directly in the ruble and yuan and avoid any reliance on the US dollar.

The relationship between Russia and China has been nurtured and expanded for years.  The degree of trust is such that China was reputedly informed of the details of the Russian invasion of Ukraine well before the event took place.  China reportedly asked that the invasion be held off until after the winter Olympics.  Whether those discussions actually took place remains to be proven but there can be no doubt that both Russia and China have taken numerous, and effective, cooperative steps to minimise the impact of the inevitable sanctions.

Despite those efforts, the system cannot be faultless and there is plenty of economic pain heading for Russia and, for the moment, Russia is reliant on China for trade income as a hedge against western sanctions.  Of course, the west is applying significant pressure to China for it to decouple from Russia, but this is extremely unlikely due to the long-term implications for access to energy and mineral wealth that China covets.

Ultimately, President Xi will not be diverted from what he perceives as China’s future and in any event, Xi doesn’t trust the west and thinks it is a decadent and failing power.

Of course, Xi is watching events closely and the resolve of the west.  It’s clear that the extent of the sanctions has a sub-text to China lest it have any thoughts about Taiwan.  The problem is that an invasion of Taiwan and corresponding sanctions imposed on China, would result in the global economy screeching to a halt.  Sure, it would hurt China as well but if China was indisputably the dominant global power, how long could a weakened west maintain the pressure?  Would we even dare to try and thrash China like has been done to Russia?

We must recognise what is happening: China has cemented a reliable and uninterruptable supply of energy, minerals and other resources which it will use to achieve its destiny.  It cannot allow itself to be reliant on the west.  By happy coincidence, China’s huge and nuclear armed neighbour has those items in abundance and what’s more, is deeply offended at decades-long western efforts to suppress and isolate it.

It is only relatively recently that the world has realised the likelihood of China achieving both economic and military dominance over the west in the next few years.  Western governments have now stumbled into the realisation that the new Sino-Russian relationship will guarantee supply of resources China needs to achieve and maintain global dominance and render her largely immune to outside coercion.  The relationship is vital to China and, she will be in lock-step with Russia who will benefit from incalculable trade with China whilst extracting revenge on the west.  Both nations have much to gain.

We are witnessing a major step-change towards the future world order.


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Living the dream
Living the dream
March 15, 2022 4:21 pm

The bug in this argument is sanctions. China’s banks withdrew financing for Russian goods because they don’t want to be taken into the sanctions. China wants to be a global power and its economy is the driver, based on trade. What Putin has done raises real costs for China, immediately through commodity prices and later – if China sustains Putin with weapons and so on – by sanctions.
Xi is already facing a slowdown and rising problems in his key year of major changes. Is he really going to allow China to be led by Russian interests?

Bluey
Bluey
March 15, 2022 4:42 pm

The sheer stupidity of our western “leaders” on full display. 30 year of opportunity to build Russia into a partner, and they couldn’t get past treating it like it it would magically turn back into the SU overnight.

What could have been but never will?

bemused
bemused
March 15, 2022 4:59 pm

I’ve mentioned this before, but what’s happening is the recognition (by Putin and Xi) that the west is becoming weaker and verging on irrelevance, given the west’s ongoing loss of moral compass. This is the greatest threat to the west, not Russia or China. The latter are simply seizing an opportunity.

Duc de Normandy
Duc de Normandy
March 15, 2022 5:03 pm

There always have been reds under the bed. They have weakened the west from within. The west can beat communism if it first destroys the enemy within. No other way. They’re not just under the bed but bouncing about in it fucking your wife and boyfriend.

Damon
Damon
March 15, 2022 5:55 pm

The West has spent valuable years idolising George Floyd (a criminal thug) and agonising about transgenderism and appropriate pronouns. Biden is a reflection of a weak society that increasingly expects everything for nothing.

Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
March 15, 2022 5:57 pm

Yuri Bezmenov on subversion – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FElIhOh_KI
Although I believe we are suffering from subversion rooted in the spiritual realm, not just physical.

Rabz
March 15, 2022 7:32 pm

the blossoming relationship between Russia and China

The twenty first century’s equivalent of the nazi-soviet pact – with funnily enough, a pathetic, weak and completely unprepared West flailing around absurdly on the sidelines (again).

Roger
Roger
March 15, 2022 7:44 pm
jupes
jupes
March 15, 2022 10:01 pm

Thanks Speedy. Great insight.

We are witnessing a major step-change towards the future world order.

Australia should be doing everything possible to decouple from the Chicoms now, rather than take a massive hit later.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 15, 2022 10:47 pm

When I was a young child at school in the early 1960s we were warned of “reds under the beds” and “beware the yellow peril”.

Showing your age Speedy. Old white men are now the peril under the bed. And the unvaxxed.

To be on thread there’s been a remarkable rise in fascism as a mode of government lately. China has been effectively fascist for some time. Russia has sort of been fascist, although more like Franco’s regime than Mussolini’s. And here in the west we’ve seen a whole spectrum of fascism: middle of the road here in Australia to quite hard fascism in Canada.

What is clearly out of fashion is democracy and liberty. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.

Speedbox
March 15, 2022 10:59 pm

Bruce of Newcastle says:
March 15, 2022 at 10:47 pm

Showing your age Speedy.

Sadly yes Bruce. Time and tide…..I guess you know the rest. 🙂

bemused
bemused
March 16, 2022 6:25 am
Kneel
Kneel
March 16, 2022 9:36 am

“What is clearly out of fashion is democracy and liberty. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.”

Sure looks that way.
US mid-terms in November might turn that around – maybe. If the GOP primaries dump establishment candidates in favour of populist ones, and they win the house and senate, things could rapidly change.

Winston Smith
March 16, 2022 7:21 pm

Not much to add to the thread, Speedy.
Except the Russia/China Pact will end with China invading Russia.

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