The Bear and Dragon Embrace: Russian-Chinese Security Cooperation
Abstract
The two large and powerful nations of China and Russia are currently engaged in a strategic partnership which is an aberration in the history between the two countries. Both nations share an aversion to a unipolar world led by the United States and seek to balance the expansion of American power and create a multi-polar international order. They have engaged in security cooperation activities ranging from arms sales and technical support, to military visits and exchanges, to large scale combined and joint military exercises. It is unlikely that this relationship will evolve into a formal military alliance, given the troubled history between China and Russia. The two countries, which share a large common border and some common interests, have numerous conflicting interests, are culturally incompatible with little grassroots affinity, and are each wary of the other, especially as Chinas power grows and Russias declines. Both nations value their bilateral relations with the United States, the nature of which bear greatly on the character of the Chinese-Russian relationship. The United States should be vigilant in observing the Chinese-Russian partnership, while cultivating its own bilateral relationships with each country.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 21, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1032344
Entities
People
- Paul Ii E. Cunningham
Organizations
- National Defense University