Abstract
The XXIst century is witnessing a historically unprecedented approximation between Russia and China. In 1997, both countries initialled a strategic cooperation, turning Moscow into the first third party to sign such a document with Bei**g. In 2001, bilateral cooperation was officially reinforced with the “Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation”. Additionally, Russia’s foreign policy has been operating a turn towards the East since 2008, in the face of deteriorated relations with Europe and contestation of the US-led liberal order. This chapters aims to analyse the Russian perspective on the greater involvement of China in the Eurasian space, namely under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We argue that, despite a rhetoric of cooperation and peaceful relations, competition is operating in several areas. The analysis unpacks dynamics in the economic, military, political/diplomatic and cultural domains.
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Fernandes, S.D., Ageeva, V. (2020). Facing China in Eurasia: The Russian Perspective. In: Leandro, F., Duarte, P. (eds) The Belt and Road Initiative. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2564-3_21
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