Russia–China rapprochement and its impact on Asia and Europe

The crisis in European security caused by the annexation of the Crimea Peninsula and the onset of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has created a new security dynamic and increased uncertainty in the Euro-Eurasian space. As a result of the crisis, Russia has sought to accelerate its own ‘pivot to Asia’ (Поворот к Азии) and, in particular, to deepen its evolving engagement with China. Similarly, China’s own maritime and terrestrial territorial concerns have propelled forward its own ‘peripheral diplomacy’ (周边外交) and reprioritization of its relations with its neighbours.

In Russia, its relationship with China has increasingly come to be seen as a ‘strategic’ one, while China has begun to view closer links with Russia as an opportunity. The Russia–China partnership is, however, far from an alliance and contains elements of cooperation and competition. In this context, and with the advent of global political shifts, the parallelism of the security situations in Asia and in Europe will be assessed. The evolving dimensions of Russia–China relations through Russia’s pivot and China’s peripheral diplomacy will be examined through case studies from 30 experts from Europe, Central Asia, North East Asia, South Asia and South East Asia. The case studies will cover the following:

• Non-traditional security topics: Investment and Development, Energy and Resources, and Terrorism and Cyberspace; and
• Traditional security topics: Conventional Arms Trade, Nuclear Weapon Modernization, and Space Weaponization.

Seats at this workshop are limited. Fika is complimentary for all participants. For those attending the full two days, lunch will be provided. Please specify in your RSVP if you will attend the entire workshop.