Global Insider: Russia-China Military Ties Growing Despite Friction

Q&A with Simon Saradzhyan

How has Russia-China military and defense cooperation evolved over the past 10 years?

The bilateral military cooperation has developed steadily thanks to a general rapprochement between China and post-Communist Russia that is based on strong economic ties and on convergence of the two countries’ interests in opposing of global domination by the United States; development of U.S. missile defenses and expansion of NATO; and regime changes in third countries.

The military-to-military aspect of the bilateral cooperation has been particularly robust.  The past decade has seen the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (AFRF) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) hold multiple exercises both in the bilateral format and in the format of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

But while the military-to-military aspect of the bilateral relationship has been developing steadily, the military-technical cooperation has been in decline. The bilateral arms trade peaked at $4 billion in 2000, but has been declining since then and is now forecast to average $1.5-$2 billion, according to the Russian government’s Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

For the full Q&A, please go to: http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/11892/global-insider-russia-china-military-ties-growing-despite-friction