Perfect Imbalance seeks to answer one of the most important outstanding questions in twenty-first century politics: how close are Putin's Russia and Xi's China?Written by a scholar fluent in both Chinese and Russian, this book examines the current China–Russia partnership from several perspectives. First, what Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and their respective foreign policy establishments publicly say about the relationship between the countries. Second, how the two establishments frame their tangible cooperation on matters such as security, the Arctic, space, and international relations with other Eurasian countries. Finally, the book examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon Sino–Russian relations. Putin and Xi's stories, where possible, are cross-checked with what is really happening.Perfect Imbalance argues that although Russia has not pivoted towards China, and although there is no official Sino–Russian alliance is in sight, the relationship will continue to grow and expand in search for a perfect imbalance.Contents:
- Foreword
- About the Author
- Introduction
- Relationship Status: Official Narratives of Russia and China
- What About 'Non-Alignment'? The Reality of Security Cooperation
- The Near-Arctic State of Mind: China's Ambitions, Russia's Response
- China in Russia's Neighbourhood: The Central Asia Game of Bypass
- Russia in China's Neighbourhood: The Curious Case of Vietnam
- There is More to Eurasia than Russia and China: The India Factor
- 'Meet in the Milky Way': Sino–Russian Cooperation in Cosmos Exploration
- In Sickness and in Health: COVID-19's Impact
- Afterword
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
'Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova captures this fundamental tension well in her succinct, comprehensive and lucid study. Bērziņa-Čerenkova brings huge advantages to her task in writing this book. She is fluent in both Chinese and Russian, while not being from either of these places. This gives her book an independence and authority that is sometimes lacking in similar works by Russian or Chinese authors.' - Kerry BrownKing's College London, UK
'The book has multiple strengths. I appreciated most the scope and selection of cases, the careful dissection of layers of rhetoric and policies, and the focus on narratives pushed by Moscow and Beijing internationally and domestically. We should carefully watch and analyse what China and Russia are doing in different sectors and different regions. The book is an excellent contribution to this challenging endeavour.' - Nargis KassenovaHarvard University, USA
'This is an excellent and timely book on one of the most important relationships in the world today. Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova's approach is fresh and distinctive, and focuses on less researched areas of the Sino–Russian partnership — the Arctic, Central Asia, the India factor, relations with Vietnam, and space. Her conclusion, that the partnership is defined by a 'perfect imbalance', is a welcome corrective to the melodramatic narratives that have become popular in recent times.' - Bobo LoIFRI, FranceLowy Institute, AustraliaCEPA, USA
Key Features:
- Original sources in Russian and Mandarin used to provide authentic interpretation of first-hand facts
