ABSTRACT
Under the headline “China-Russia ties deepen while U.S. and allies flail,” the Chinese Communist Party’s Global Times recently (21/3/21) announced: “The most influential bilateral relationship in Eurasia is the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.” This claim is no longer dismissed as mere propaganda by Western observers, though a consensus on its implications has yet to emerge. The purpose of this chapter is first, to make a case that the relationship is most usefully viewed as part of a “strategic triangle” including the mutual implicit target of coordination, the United States. We begin by showing how the triangle functioned during its heyday, and then trace its evolution to see how it has changed since the Cold War. Finally, we look at the forces currently in play to transform the triangle (motivated principally by actors trapped in less desirable positions) on the one hand, or to stabilize and prolong the status quo on the other.
