By David Morera Herrera, from Costa Rica
Automatically translated by AI.
In so-called “progressive” circles and among neo-Stalinist nostalgics, China and Russia are seen as progressive powers, seeking a multipolar world that confronts the hegemony of Western imperialism.
As for the second assertion, it is true, insofar as Russia and China are in fact in an increasingly acute commercial and geopolitical competition and confrontation, at times larvae or direct: as in the case of Russia in Ukraine and China in the dispute over Taiwan. Add to this the offensive by the US and its junior partners in the European Union against the sale of (cheaper) Russian gas to Europe and its sabotage of Nord Stream 2[i], and, on the other hand, Trump’s new tariff offensive to put pressure on China over access to rare earths.
But the first assertion is false, the reality indicates that neither China nor Russia play any progressive role. From the LIS, we consider both powers as imperialist: China with greater economic weight, Russia with a greater military size.
While it is true that both powers maintain a very profitable balance between public and private enterprise (which mutually support each other under the control of the State), it is not at all obvious that they are governed by the laws of expanded accumulation of capital, typical of the capitalist system, likewise, their characteristics make them new imperialisms due to a series of irrefutable facts. In both cases there is export / investment of capital on a large scale, and in the case of China, lone loans under the Swap scheme, which consists of a financial exchange agreement in which one of the parties agrees to pay with a certain periodicity a series of monetary flows in exchange for receiving another series of flows from the other party. These flows correspond to an interest payment on the nominal amount of the swap, similar to the conditions imposed by western banks.
“The Chinese economy today occupies a central place in the global economy: it is the second largest by nominal GDP and the first by purchasing power parity (PPP), with a significant share in international trade and world manufacturing. This economic weight of China translates into influence over commodity prices, supply chains and foreign investment decisions (…) In quantitative terms, Chinese GDP represents approximately one-fifth of world production in PPP and maintains export and import levels that place it among the main commercial players”[ii].
In the case of Russia, with less importance as an economic power, like China, it has important investments and intervention in Africa. As if that were not enough, let us take into account its invasion of Ukraine, in defense of its vital geopolitical interests in terms of the outlet to the Black Sea for its navigation in that strategic area and the operation of the gas pipeline passing under Ukraine that Nord Stream 2 was intended to replace, before it was diplomatically sabotaged by the United States.
On the other hand, without any scruples about what the reactionary Qatari oil monarchy represents and its repeated betrayal of the Palestinian cause, Putin does succulent business with his Emir. On April 17 of this year, he himself stated: “Through the Direct Investment Fund, (Qatar) invested about a billion dollars in the (Russian) economy. And I am sure that there are prospects for more and that we have many interesting projects,” the Russian president noted. Putin also claimed at the beginning of the meeting that he collaborates with Qatar in the gas sector, where he expects “more joint projects (…) Qatar is one of the key partners of our leading oil and gas company Rosneft,”[iii] he noted.
Neither the Alaska Summit nor the SCO Summit said a single word about Palestine.
In recent events of great media coverage, neither Putin nor Xin Jin Ping have aimed to denounce the genocide in Gaza, even as simple statements. Their economic and geostrategic priorities are elsewhere. At the Alaska Summit, where Putin was received with a red carpet by Trump, we do not even know the secret content of their talks. However, it is striking that after the conclave, Putin stepped up his military offensive in Ukraine and Trump his offensive of aggression against Venezuela. It is worth asking whether these actions were on the menu of their secret diplomacy beforehand. In any case, not even as a publicity gesture, Putin took advantage of the Summit to mention the need for a ceasefire in the face of the genocide in Gaza.
On the other hand, the XXV Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), hosted by Xin Jing Ping, was held in the Chinese city of Tianjin, in a large forum with representatives from more than 20 countries; among them, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Pakistani Prime Minister Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Pakistani Prime Minister Kassym-Jomart Tokayev; Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh; Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly; Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
In this event of great magnitude in which the figures of the host Xin Jing Ping, Putin and Modi stood out, in which we could say that there was not the “uncomfortable” presence of Trump (as in Alaska), not a word or a statement about the genocide in Gaza.
China: Rising power trades with Israel
Undoubtedly one of the most telling aspects revealing China’s imperialistic (and consequently cynical) nature is the steady increase in its average annual investment in Israel since 2002, from $20 million to over $200 million.
According to official Chinese data, which is publicly available: “Diplomatic relations between the two countries were officially established in January 1992. Since then, China and Israel have progressively improved their relations, which reached their peak with President Jiang Zemin’s visit to Israel in 2000. Since then, four Israeli presidents and three Israeli prime ministers have made official visits to Beijing, including most recently Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March 2017. Recent developments in bilateral relations between Israel and China underscore an active engagement between the two nations (…) Between 1995 and 2022, Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Israel averaged $14.28 billion, reaching a peak of $112 billion in the third quarter of 2021.”[iv]
Imperialist pragmatism
According to Evangeline Cheng, a research associate at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore. “China traditionally approaches foreign policy through a lens of strategic pragmatism rather than ideological solidarity,” This approach means that China will always focus on protecting its economic interests, many of which it has in the Middle East. China has investments in Israel’s burgeoning technology sector and its Belt and Road infrastructure project encompasses Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile John Gong, a professor of economics at Beijing University of International Business and Economics, told Al Jazeera that China’s main concern during the conflict was to avoid “soaring oil prices” that would threaten its energy security.[v]
Support or ambiguity vs. Trump’s cemetery “peace” plan
Trump’s “peace” plan is an episodic cover to continue the occupation (to date Israel continues to occupy 50% of Gazan territory), does not mention a word about the growing illegal occupation of Isreal in the West Bank, imposes the disarmament of the resistance and its submission to a provisional government, in which Trump intends to establish a protectorate, with the help of the bourgeoisies of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, among other aspects that lead us to repudiate this deadly trap, which in the long run will not stop the systematic massacre of the Palestinian people.
Oct. 2 Russia declared its readiness to support “in general terms” U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for the end of the war and the future of the Gaza Strip, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, speaking at the Valdai Debate Club taking place in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.[vi] The Russian President said he is ready to support the plan of U.S. President Donald Trump for the end of the war and the future of the Gaza Strip.[vii]
As for China, it has been more circumspect and ambiguous. Foreign Minister Guo Jiakun indicated that the Chinese government has expressed its willingness to “work with the international community to make efforts towards a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue”. This position is in line with Beijing’s vision of the need to achieve “a peaceful and stable Middle East” through dialogue and negotiation.
Only the Palestinian people, with the support of the peoples of the world, can guarantee
The only way out in the face of the genocide and colonization of Palestine, which dates back to 1947, is the independent organization of the Palestinian working people’s movement and its support in the colossal mass mobilizations in its defense on a global scale. As it has been demonstrated, for Russia and China, let alone for Trump: Netanyahu’s sponsor and financier, who is rubbing his hands with the real estate business he intends in the devastated Gaza Strip) the Palestinian issue is nothing more than a geostrategic struggle that is assumed from the point of view of their own economic and commercial interests. Thus, they offer nothing but bloodshed and oppression.
Knowing how difficult the dreadful situation in Gaza is and the relief that the ceasefire undoubtedly constitutes, the heroic resilience of the Palestinian masses returning to their demolished homes throughout the strip (with the Zionist army still aiming at their heads), it is our duty to warn against the siren songs of every imperialist faction, and to point out that only the democratic, secular and unitary popular organization of the Palestinian people, together with the great support of the masses for their cause in the world, point the strategic path to victory.
[i] The laying of Nord Stream 2 was carried out in 2018-2021. The first line of Nord Stream 2 was completed in June 2021 and the second line was completed in September 2021.
Nord Stream 2 has a total annual capacity of 55 billion m³ (1.9 trillion cubic feet) of gas.
[ii] Reguera, Eduardo. https://aprendeeconomia.info/que-lugar-ocupa-la-economia-china-en-el-mundo/#:~:text=La%20econom%C3%ADa%20china%20ocupa%20hoy%20un%20lugar%20central,en%20el%20comercio%20internacional%20y%20la%20manufactura%20mundial.
[iii] EFE, 17 April 2025. https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/putin-y-el-emir-de-catar-abordan-proyectos-conjuntos-de-inversi%c3%b3n-y-la-crisis-en-o.-medio/89181229
[iv] China-Israel Trade and Investment Overview. https://www.china-briefing.com/news/panorama-de-comercio-e-inversion-entre-china-e-israel/
[v] Ibid
[vi] EFE October 2, 2025. https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/rusia-est%c3%a1-dispuesta-a-apoyar-plan-de-paz-de-trump-para-gaza/90105952
