CHINA AND RUSSIA - THE QUIET TRANSFER. SATURDAY'S EDITION

The Long Game: How China Is Taking Back What Russia Took - Series 12 #6

China’s strategy in the Russian Far East works because five cultural dimensions align in China’s favor and against Russia’s. Long-term orientation gives China patience. Short-term pressure forces Russia to accept bad deals today just to survive. High-context communication lets China signal intentions without creating confrontations. Face makes the recovery of lost territory a moral imperative that will not fade. External direction means China works with forces already in motion rather than forcing the situation. Restraint allows China to wait for permanent gains rather than grab for temporary ones.

Russia operates from the opposite position on each dimension. Short-term desperation. More direct communication that gets nowhere when the other side refuses to engage directly. A self-image as a great power that contradicts the reality that it is dependent on China. Internal direction that tried to force outcomes in Ukraine and failed. Indulgence that started a war without calculating the long-term costs.

The cultural mismatch is total. China plays a game Russia cannot win.