As a Man Is, So Is His Company

Abstract

Amid its confrontation with the West, Moscow faces the pressing need to reexamine its approach to alliance-building. Currently Moscow has to foster low-profile countersanction alignments. Meanwhile, the prospect of an armed clash with the United States and NATO makes one think about alliances that would strengthen Russia’s conventional deterrence. Formalizing defense commitments with China becomes an important prerequisite for addressing the increasingly reckless Western coercion. The traditional counterarguments against a Russia-China alliance appear obsolete now that the U.S. directly designates Russia and China as adversaries, openly expands its military presence at their borders, gears up military buildup, and mobilizes its allies. For Russia, an alliance with China would diminish reliance on the threat of nuclear retaliation and increase flexibility of its deterrence posture.