In May 2025, China and Russia signed three joint statements. Two were proudly published on the Kremlin’s website — declarations on “global strategic stability” and “a new era of partnership.” The third — a document on international law and cooperation — was never published.

The page was prepared (kremlin.ru/supplement/6311), but the text vanished before release. Not by accident — but by design.
The only available version appears in English on the official website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its content is more than legal pleasantry. It amounts to a symbolic submission by Russia to the logic of China’s global order — in exchange for Beijing’s continued silence on Ukraine.

What Did Russia Sign?

The document outlines China and Russia’s:

full adherence to the UN Charter,
rejection of force without UN Security Council authorization,
respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,
commitment to non-interference and peaceful dispute resolution.

Notably, Ukraine is not mentioned.
But every line of the document undermines Russia’s justification for its 2022 invasion. What the Kremlin signed contradicts the ideological basis of its war.

Why Sign — and Hide — It?

Because Russia needs China more than it needs ideological consistency.

The document was:

signed to secure political neutrality from Beijing,
hidden because its content invalidates Russia’s own actions.

This was not a declaration of values. It was a strategic plea for non-interference. In effect, the Kremlin told China:

“We accept your rules. Just don’t undermine our war.”

Beijing’s Strategic Silence

China:

does not support Russia’s war,
does not condemn it,
continues economic cooperation,
and remains diplomatically aloof.

That is precisely what Moscow needs: the absence of pressure.
No condemnation. No recognition of Ukraine’s sovereignty in this context.
Just silence — weaponized as a form of support.

Molotov–Ribbentrop 2.0

The historical analogy is apt.
In 1939, Nazi Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact, while secretly dividing Poland.
In 2025, China and Russia sign a document that appears to affirm global norms — while quietly enabling Russia’s war.

But unlike 1939, Moscow is not a co-architect of division. It is the object of realignment.

What Did China Gain?

De facto recognition of its interpretation of international law,
A Kremlin signature on universal principles it can use later,
Silence on Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and the South China Sea,
Economic dominance in Russia’s east — without firing a shot.

Beijing gave nothing — and gained everything.

What Did Russia Lose?

Narrative control — it cannot explain this document domestically;
Interpretive sovereignty — it no longer defines its war alone;
Diplomatic leverage — China can now cite this document if Moscow deviates;
Moral ground — Russia now publicly endorses norms it continuously violates.

This is not a partnership. It is a geopolitical mortgage.

Ukraine: Erased From the Picture

Ukraine’s complete absence in the declaration is itself the message.
China refuses:

to endorse the war,
to acknowledge its cause,
or to accept Russia’s framing.

Ukraine is politically redacted — to preserve China’s flexibility and protect Russia’s narrative silence.

Conclusion

📌 The Kremlin didn’t gain an ally — it acknowledged a hierarchy.
📌 It didn’t receive support — it bought silence.
📌 At the cost of its political independence.

This was not a treaty. It was not a strategic dialogue.
It was a pact of silence — drafted in Beijing, signed in Moscow, and enforced by geopolitical dependence.

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