China-Russia Relations—Enduring Alliance or Limited Partnership?

One of the key developments in international relations over the past decade has been the rise of a Sino-Russian “strategic partnership.” Although Beijing and Moscow cite their stronger ties as the very model of bilateral cooperation, others see in the relationship cause for concern. They fear that the China-Russia relationship may evolve into an “authoritarian alliance” that could eventually become an alternative center of gravity to the liberal democracies of the West.

This Open Society Institute panel discussion looked at a number of key questions: What is the current state of Sino-Russian relations? To what extent are the two countries actually seen as an alternative model elsewhere in the developing world? What are the divergent points of interest between the two countries? What impact will improved bilateral ties have on geographic neighbors like Central Asia? And, most broadly, how will the global economic crisis influence the strategic partnership?

Panelists

• Bobo Lo, Director of the Russia and China Programs at the Center for European Reform
• Gilbert Rozman, Musgrave Professor of Sociology at Princeton University
• Elizabeth Wishnick, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University and Research Associate at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University

Thomas Kellogg, Program Officer and Advisor to the President of the Open Society Institute, introduced the event.