ABSTRACT
Two-thirds of Russia’s territory lies in Asia, but according to public opinion polls, its inhabitants – even those living near the shores of the Pacific Ocean and the Chinese border – think of themselves as Europeans.1 That is no coincidence – Russians truly are Europeans whom fate and history have cast upon the Asian continent. But now that Russians find themselves here, they must come to an understanding – not in the sense of having to formulate an exotic Eurasian theory about the Asian heart of Russia, but in the sense that their relationship to their Asian neighbors will to a large degree determine the future of Russia. Of those neighbors, the most important for Russia today is China. Its significance
stems from the sheer size of the country, the length of the common border, and China’s possible influence on the future development of Russia – especially its eastern regions. The almost 400-year Russian-Chinese relationship is unique. The two countries have never been at war, although there were, of course, difficult periods and minor clashes. It would hardly be possible to find two such neighbors anywhere else in the world. Today, Russian-Chinese relations are at the peak of their development. Their
new standing was secured in 2001 with the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. There are no problems with Russian-Chinese bilateral relations like those that hinder Russia’s dealings with other countries in the region: not territorial (as with Japan) and not political (as with North Korea). The problem of delineating the border along its entire length of 4209.3 km – for many years a cause of disagreement – has been fully resolved according to the principles of international law. The two countries managed to resolve their last remaining territorial disagreement in 2004, when three disputed islands in the Amur and Ussuri Rivers were divided approximately in half. In 2006, both parties observed “The Year of Russia in China,” and in 2007, “The Year of China in Russia” – a multifaceted program consisting of hundreds of various activities in the political, economic and cultural spheres. The leaders of both countries alone met five times in 2007 and in 2008. It has been officially recognized
that Russia and China are linked by a “relationship of strategic partnership and cooperation.” All of this does not mean that there are no problems between the two countries
and peoples. As a rule, however, they remain the subjects of study by specialists and only rarely become themes for broad public discussion. In this article I would like to present the most significant issues concerning the interaction of Russia and China that the community of political analysts in Russia is currently discussing.
