2022, Vol. 4, Issue 2, Part A

Leaders in Russia and China are openly discussing a “strategic relationship” based on self-interest and a desire for leverage over other countries. The warming of relations between Russia and China had already begun in the final phase of the Soviet period, when the eastern border was defined and the entire border demarcated. Their post-Cold War strategic relationship is based on five main determinants. These include border transformation, force reductions, confidence-building measures, interdependence and Russian arms sales. Russia and China have agreed to reduce the potential for a military conflagration by de-targeting nuclear weapons and not using nuclear weapons first. Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Chinese Premier Li Peng agreed to develop cooperative relations in 1992, and since then there have been regular high-level visits between the two countries. Russia’s trade with China has increased substantially since the Gorbachev period, and “in 2012 two-way trade equalled almost US$ 88 billion, a huge increase from 2001.” Both military and non-military trade relationship between Russia and China is a positive factor in Russo-Chinese relations.