International cooperation

Putin Is Swayed By China As New ‘Technological War’ Intensifies

In June, Putin met China's President Xi Jinping at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum to cement the strengthening “strategic relationship” between the two countries that represent the greatest threat to the U.S. and its allies. The leaders signed a joint statement announcing that “the China-Russian relationship has entered a new era, and is facing new opportunities for greater development.” According to China’s state media, “the objective of such a new kind of partnership is for both sides to give more support to each other as they seek to take their own development paths, preserve respective core interests, and protect sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Putin used the event to take aim at Washington’s clampdown on China’s tech giants, specifically Huawei, but it could as easily have been Hikvision or Dahua, SenseTime, Yitu or Megvii. He said of Trump’s campaign against Huawei that “in some circles, it is even called the first technological war of the coming digital era.” And it was clear where Russia was positioned in that technological war. Huawei and other giants such as Tencent and Alibaba are investing heavily in the country. Huawei is the leading smartphone supplier to the country, with almost the same market share as in China, and the company is helping to deploy new 5G networks.