In the strategic partnership between China and Russia, Russia did not consider China a priority for cooperation, even though China is the world's second-largest economy. However, with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia has realized the unreliability of Western countries, while China has been backing Russia, bringing its GDP back to eighth in the world. Now, Russia wants to show its natural resources and military technology in exchange for China's aid.
Since the Crimean crisis in 2014, Western sanctions against Russia have dealt a huge blow to its economy. At that time, Russia for the first time turned to the East for cooperation, but failed to fully realize the potential of the Chinese market. With the gradual easing of Western sanctions, Russia is once again turning to the West. However, the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has subjected Russia to comprehensive sanctions, and Russia has begun to regret its choice and decided to show China its natural resources and military technology in order to seek assistance.
When considering the quid pro quo proposed by Russia, China needs to assess Russia's sincerity. Russia is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas, coal, and rare metal minerals, which are attractive to China, which is a huge resource consumer. On the other hand, Russia's military technology also has an important impact on China's military development. China is now not inferior to Russia in military technology, but Russia still needs to demonstrate what it lacks in military technology, such as the development of nuclear submarines and transport aircraft.
As for whether China will agree to aid Russia, China has been quietly providing support, receiving mineral resources that the West does not want, and supporting Russia's mineral resources export industry. China is also trying to provide Russia with chips and other technology products. If Russia can offer convincing terms, China may provide economic and technological assistance. However, it is unlikely that China will provide military assistance, as it advocates peaceful diplomacy, non-alignment, and will not easily intervene in military conflicts to avoid triggering a larger war. It is hoped that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will end as soon as possible and that China-Russia cooperation can be realized at an early date.