Highlighting long-term cooperation between Russia and China, Maria Zakharova argued that Western countries shape their political decisions according to election cycles.

Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official representative, spoke on September 28 at a conference held as part of China Week at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in Moscow. Assessing the difference between China’s and the West’s approaches, Zakharova said China had a different worldview regarding the future of her country and the world.
Zakharova said China was pursuing its development with a strategic focus on the future and was able to look beyond election cycles. She said Western countries, by contrast, based their political decisions on election periods, linking this approach to their understanding of Western democracy.
The Russian Foreign Ministry representative reinforced her assessment with a Western expression meaning “After us, the deluge.”
Zakharova said cooperation between Russia and China embodied a responsible approach based on a long-term vision of the world, adding that countries should not disrupt other people’s lives and order solely for short-term political gains. She said the world should be viewed as a historical process.