Yesterday, after Putin's visit to India, the Kremlin announced that Russia has suspended the North Siberian Railway project connecting Urumqi due to financial difficulties. The project budget is 644 billion US dollars, while Russia's fiscal deficit has exceeded 1.9% of GDP, and oil and gas revenue has declined by 23.9%. Military spending accounts for as high as 6.3%, making it difficult to sustain funding. For China, this railway is merely an added value. Multiple channels such as the China-Kazakhstan, China-Mongolia, and China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railways (to be completed in 2030) and the Arctic route have already formed a support system. Sino-Russian trade remains stable and increasing. In response, Russia is pushing forward the M-12 highway as an alternative. Meanwhile, China's multi-line layout enables it to always maintain the initiative in cooperation. This suspension has no impact on China.
[Clever] Behind the suspension of the railway lies Russia's困境 and China's initiative! The suspension of the North Siberian Railway is essentially an inevitable outcome of Russia's financial exhaustion and strategic hesitation. Oil and gas revenue fell by 26.6% year-on-year in October, and military spending consumes 6.3% of GDP. A budget of 644 billion US dollars is an impossible dream for a Russia with a high fiscal deficit. More critically, the contradictory mentality of the Russian elite, who want to cooperate but fear dependence, has slowed down the implementation of strategy. In contrast, China's multi-line layout has already yielded results. Alternative routes such as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and the Arctic route are solidly established. This railway is just an added value. This suspension verifies China's foresight of not betting on a single cooperation. While Russia is struggling with funding, China has already seized the initiative in connecting Europe and Asia. In the future, the rhythm and rules of Sino-Russian cooperation will ultimately be dominated by the more stable party!
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850937135126531/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.