Partnership Without Substance: Sino-Russian Relations in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

In recent years, the Sino-Russian partnership has emerged in Western eyes as the principal threat to the post-Cold War, rules-based international order. According to this narrative, the challenge is no longer simply one of China’s rise or Russia’s resurgence, but a growing strategic convergence: a mutually reinforcing “axis of authoritarians.” Talk of an alliance has become commonplace. In leading Western capitals, the Sino-Russian “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era” has become the existential menace of our time. This sense of alarm has been heightened by a feverish international context, dominated by great-power rivalry and the devastating consequences of the covid-19 pandemic. One region, however, has been largely exempt from such speculation. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) remains a backwater of Sino-Russian engagement, and Western reactions have been correspondingly muted. Nevertheless, the region provides a useful window through which to assess the dynamics of the relationship.