An Uneasy Friendship

Chinese-Russian ties have become closer since the West imposed sanctions on Russia for its interventions in Ukraine. Both China and Russia are permanent members of the UN Security Council: “Both, for different reasons, resent America’s ‘hegemony’ and share a desire for a more multipolar world order,” notes the Economist. “Russia, a declining great power, is looking for ways to recover at least some of its lost status; whereas China, a rising power, bridles at what it sees as American attempts to constrain it.” China outpaces Russia as an economic power and is purchasing Russian oil at low prices. Russia, fearing reverse engineering by the Chines and resenting increasing competition in the defense industry, has limited sales of military technology to China. The Economist concludes: “In theory, Russia’s incursions into Ukraine and its seizure of Crimea violate two of China’s most consistently held foreign-policy tenets: non-interference in other states and separatism of any kind.” Trade bargains outweigh political principles. The article anticipates competition over Central Asia between Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union and China’s Silk Road Economic Belt – YaleGlobal