Please join us for a talk with Alexander Lukin about his new book China and Russia: The New Rapprochement (Polity, April 2018).
This event is supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. It is part of our Russian Studies & Policy event series.
With many predicting the end of U.S. hegemony, Russia and China's growing cooperation in a number of key strategic areas looks set to have a major impact on global power dynamics. But what lies behind this Sino-Russian rapprochement? Is it simply the result of deteriorated Russo-US and Sino-US relations or does it date back to a more fundamental alignment of interests after the Cold War?
In this book, by leading expert on Sino-Russian relations, Alexander Lukin attempts to answer these questions by offering a deeply-informed and nuanced assessment ofRussia and China's ever-closer ties. Tracing the evolution of this partnership from the1990s to the present day, he shows how economic and geopolitical interests drove thetwo counties together in spite of political and cultural differences. Key areas ofcooperation and possible conflict are explored from bilateral trade and investment to immigration and security. Ultimately, Lukin argues that China and Russia's informal alliance is part of a growing system of cooperation in the non-Western world, which has also seen the emergence of a new political community: Greater Eurasia. Combining accessibility with expert sensitivity to the complexities of the subject, Lukin's vision of the new China-Russia rapprochement will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding this evolving partnership and the way in which it is altering the contemporary geopolitical landscape.
Alexander Lukin is Head of the Global Economy & International Affairs Department at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
