Top envoy dismisses talk of US-Russia alliance against China as ‘cold war mindset’

As Trump shakes up approach to Moscow, Chinese ambassador to Russia paints rosy picture of bilateral ties

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Traditional wooden dolls depicting (from left) Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop in St Petersburg, Russia in November. Photo: AP

Published: 8:55pm, 10 Mar 2025Updated: 11:29pm, 10 Mar 2025

China’s top envoy to Moscow shot down talk of a potential US-Russia alliance against Beijing under the Trump administration as reflecting a “cold war mindset” while painting a rosy picture of the Sino-Russian partnership’s future.

Zhang Hanhui, the Chinese ambassador to Russia, said in an interview that aired on Monday that Moscow’s ties with Washington and Beijing were on two separate tracks. He added that the China-Russia relationship was not driven by fleeting events or short-term goals but was carried out on a “long-term and strategic” basis.

“The development of bilateral relations has broad prospects, and there will be no problems,” he told Hong Kong-based broadcaster Phoenix TV on the sidelines of the “two sessions”, China’s annual meetings of the top legislature and top advisory body.

The senior Chinese diplomat added that the two countries shared deep mutual trust, well-established exchange mechanisms – especially those for high-level contacts – and a wide range of common interests.

US President Donald Trump has dramatically shaken up Washington’s approach to the Ukraine war and made efforts to reset the White House’s ties with Russia. This includes Trump’s decision to negotiate directly with Moscow to end the war.

This has fuelled speculation that Trump might try to undermine the relationship between Beijing and Moscow while pulling Russia closer to the US – much like former US president Richard Nixon’s administration sought to counter the Soviet Union by reaching out to Beijing in the early 1970s.