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Following the massive trade and energy deals signed between Russia and China during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's three-day visit to Beijing last week, some analysts said the increasingly close collaboration between the two countries is a sign that Russia now sees China as a model for future success.


A news analysis Sunday from The New York Times (NYT) said, "Putin's party, United Russia, is examining how it can emulate the Chinese Communist Party, especially its skill in shepherding China through the financial crisis."


The article, written by Clifford J. Levy, said that the Russians "seem almost ashamed that their economy is highly dependent on oil, gas and other natural resources while China excels at manufacturing products sought by the world."


The article quoted Aleksandr D. Zhukov, a deputy prime minister and senior Putin aide, as saying that the "practical experience" of China's Communist Party "should be intensely studied."


Zhukov made the remark during a special meeting with Chinese officials October 9 in the border city of Suifenhe, China, northwest of Vladivostok. The meeting, convened with the theme of strengthening border trade, is the second China-Russia Political Party Forum. The first forum was held in Moscow in 2007.


Russia's "fascination with the Chinese Communist Party," Levy wrote, "underscores United Russia's lack of a core philosophy."


"Whatever the motivation," the article says, "Russia in recent years has started moving toward the Chinese model, politically and economically."


The NYT article says the "world financial crisis accentuated comparisons between the economies. In June, the World Bank projected that China's economy would grow by 7.2 percent in 2009, while Russia's would shrink by 7.9 percent."


Bao Jianyun, an expert on Russian economics at the School of International Studies of Renmin University of China, said there are aspects in the Chinese model that might be useful to Russia, but simply copying will not help the country. "The China model is the result of our reform in the past 30 years, based on China's unique circumstances," he said.


Disagreeing with the NYT article, Xing Guangcheng, at the Center of China's Borderland History and Geography of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that from his exchanges with Russian scholars, he feels that many of them don't regard the China model as an example for Russia to emulate, and that they have already found the road suited for Russia.


"In the 1950s, China modeled after Russia's central planning system. But it was proved backward and unproductive in China," he said.


Global Times