By: Richard Rousseau
The history of Russian-Chinese relations are full of turnarounds and mutual distrust, even disdain at times A century of unequal treaties between the two countries, resulting in Russia’s encroachment on China’s sovereignty and ideological tensions dating back to the 1960s, have left deep marks on the consciences of policymakers on both sides.
Numerous spats and breaks in diplomatic relations occurred in the 20th century. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, though, Moscow and Beijing have gradually improved their relations, as evidenced by the creation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001, of which Russia and China are founding members, and the signing of the Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, also in 2001. In economic, cultural and political spheres, relations have never been better than they are now.
Officials from both countries have developed a “strategic partnership” based on strong bilateral and multilateral cooperation in many fields. Military cooperation has taken center stage in this relationship, which is characterized by three main aspects: 1) politico-military cooperation through meetings of senior officials, especially defense ministers and chiefs of staff; 2) joint military maneuvers and training; 3) sales of military equipment and licensed technology transfer from Russia to China.
Of these three aspects, the most important is the arms trade, even though in recent years a significant drop in Russian military equipment exports to China has been observed, which has in turn affected the “strategic partnership”.
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