Russia and China: The Potential of Their Partnership
Russia and China are celebrating their “strategic partnership”, and have been vastly expanding their cooperation since 2014. In this CSS Analysis, Jeronim Perović and Benno Zogg argue that their close alliance is based on economic and geopolitical considerations. While it is mutually beneficial, it also has its limitations. However, in the mid-term, both China and Russia appear to be willing to overlook potential fields of tension, for instance in Central Asia.
Russia is increasingly orienting itself toward Asia. President Vladimir Putin’s vision of a “Greater Europe”, which pictured a free-trade zone from Lisbon to Vladivostok, has given way – at least since the Ukrainian crisis of 2014 and the subsequent Western sanctions and Russian counter-sanctions – to the idea of a “Greater Eurasia”. Moscow now tends to highlight its position of power at the center of the Eurasian landmass and the new importance of Asia for Russian foreign policy. China plays a crucial role in this context. There is no other head of state whom Putin has met more often than President Xi Jinping. Pro-government media outlets in Russia depict China in a very positive light, and public perceptions of the neighboring country have also improved.