 | |
 Taiwan |  Russia |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Representative Office in Moscow for the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission | Representative Office in Taipei for the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation |
| Envoy | |
| Representative Lo Chin-Ru | Representative Yury Metelev |
Russia–Taiwan relations are thebilateralforeign relations betweenTaiwan andRussia. Russia currently doesn't have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, considering it to be an "inalienable" part of thePeople's Republic of China.
Relations deterioated after the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Taiwan imposed sanctions against Russia, leading Russia to place Taiwan on itsunfriendly countries and territories list.[1]
As a result of theShimonoseki Treaty in 1895, which ended theSino-Japanese War, Taiwan was transferred to Japan and was promptly made a Japanese colony. Foreign consulates resumed their activities on Formosa, 2 including Russian activities in 1896. The first Russian consul was the German nativePaul Shabert. Both the Republic of China and the Soviet Union were the founding members of theUnited Nations and theSecurity Council in 1945.[citation needed]
After the end of theKorean War in 1954, the US signed a security treaty with the government of the Republic of China, which included a clause providing for American participation in military action in case of confrontation with mainland China. The Soviet Union minister of foreign affairs in a statement called the treaty a "rude violation of international agreements, sovereignty, and the territorial integrity of the PRC."[citation needed]
All contact between the Soviet Union and the Republic of China defined by theSino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance of 1945 was broken off. The announcement of the breakup was made on October 3, 1949, after the Soviet Union became the first country to recognize the PRC in October.[citation needed]
Although there have been some weak tendencies towards change in the status quo since the late 1950s, up to this day, the Russian Federation has had no official relations with Taiwan. It is worth mentioning that the Soviet Union had always adhered to the policy of "one China" but insisted on a political solution to deal with the crisis. Possibly, it was one of the reasons for the cooling of Sino Soviet relations at the end of the 1950s. When in September 1954 bombardment of the Taiwan-adjacent islands provoked the first of the three Matszu-Amoi crises, the Soviet Union inNikita Khrushchev's statement officially announced its support of the PRC. At the same time,Foreign MinisterVyacheslav Molotov expressed concern that the regional conflict would turn into a major war, while accusing the United States of provoking the conflict. Not long before the crisis in 1954,ROC Navy captured a Soviet civilian oil tanker"Tuapse" in thehigh sea ofBashi Channel, which was on course fromOdesa toVladivostok.[2][3] 49 crew were detained, whereas 29 were released in 1955, 9 moved to US and the others were imprisoned in various time frames till either died or finally released after 34 years in 1988.[4][5] TheCommunist Party of the Soviet Union called for the Ten Nations Summit in New Delhi to discuss the issue on 27 September 1958 as one of the precursors of the later Sino-Soviet split.[citation needed]
With theSino-Soviet split, Unofficial contact between the Soviet Union and Taiwan started at the 1960s such as the visits betweenVictor Louis,Chiang Ching-kuo andJames Wei,[6][7]: 759 after the tendency toward a US-PRC rapprochement had become obvious. While continuing to be committal to PRC's claim to be the sole representative of China, the Soviet Union stopped boycotting international organizations that excluded the PRC. Khrushchev additionally considered extending Soviet diplomatic recognition to Taiwan and refused to back Chinese efforts to take back Taiwan with military force.[8]: 411
The visits byRichard Nixon andHenry Kissinger resulted in the signing of the so-calledShanghai communiqué in 1972 when it was declared that the US "acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China." Meanwhile, Taiwan hoped that a Soviet-Taiwanese rapprochement would prevent the rising number of China-American contacts. It is possible that the Soviet Union in its turn considered that restoration of relations with the ROC would help to slow down the aggravation in Soviet-PRC relations. Taiwan was eager to compromise since after the weakening of its relations with the US, it had little to lose. The Soviet Union, however, was very careful in its policy towards the ROC, trading with it viaHong Kong,Japan,West Germany, and itsEastern European allies.[citation needed]
Russia under PresidentBoris Yeltsin moved to strengthen unofficial ties with Taiwan. In April 1992, former deputy prime ministerOleg Lobov met with Taiwanese Vice Foreign MinisterChiang Hsiao-yen. The two sides agreed to establish respective Economic and Cultural Coordination Commissions inMoscow andTaipei. Lobov lobbied Yeltsin to sign a degree with the effect in September 1992; this action was taken without consulting the rest of the Russian government or theChinese embassy. The Chinese government called Russian Foreign MinisterAndrei Kozyrev to demand the new commissions be considered "unofficial". On 15 September 1992, after concerns from the Foreign and Defense Ministries, theForeign Intelligence Service and theState Duma, Yeltsin issued a decree emphasizing Russia's commitment to the "one China" policy and affirming the commissions were unofficial.[8]: 487-488
By 2002, the borders ofOuter Mongolia were eliminated from the ROC boundary definition in which theTuva Republic was incorporated in.[citation needed]
Over the past years, Russia has welcomed more than 300 Taiwanese students to work in the country, while Taiwan has allowed 200 Russian students.[9] It is also said that around 1,000 Taiwanese visit Russia each year.[9]
In 2022, Russia added Taiwan to theunfriendly countries and territories list.[10]The Wall Street Journal reported in October 2024 thatElon Musk had been in regular contact with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin and other high-ranking Russian government officials since late 2022, discussing personal topics, business and geopolitical matters. TheJournal reported that Putin had asked Musk to avoid activating theStarlink satellite system over Taiwan, to appeaseChinese Communist Party general secretaryXi Jinping.[11]
As of 2025[update], Taiwan is the largest importer of Russiannaphta.[12] In mid 2025 it was reported that Taiwanese companies had purchased more than a billion dollars' worth ofnaphtha since 2024, becoming Russia's top export destination for that product.[13]
The ROC representative office in Russia, the Representative Office in Moscow for the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission, was opened on 12 July 1993 by theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the ROC. The Russian representative office in Taiwan,Representative Office in Taipei for the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation, was opened on 15 December 1996 by theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.[14]
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