Russian-Sino Relations in Post-Covid Asia : Moscow’s Perspective

Abstract

From the Kremlin’s perspective, the global great power rivalry has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, which will result in a US-Chinese bipolarity. Moscow would like to avoid being in a situation where it needs to choose a side because Russia would either become a junior partner or become marginalized. Therefore, the Kremlin will develop its bilateral relations with Beijing and other countries on the Eurasian continent, and it will try to find multilateral cooperations and international organizations (SCO, EEU, UN) to preserve its room to manoeuvre and protect its own strategic autonomy in global politics. The pandemic has shown the deficiency of the cooperation between Russia and China, although no strategic-level disagreement has occurred. A military alliance still seems impossible between the two countries, with Russia’s economic ties overly focused on the export of raw materials, although there are promising projects, for example, in the Arctic region. In the long term, a flexible strategic partnership could be the most suitable way of cooperation for the parties, but their bilateral relations will be greatly influenced by their respective relations with the West.