Russia and China in the 21st century: Strategic partnership in the context of civilizational globalization

Abstract

The central focus of author’s paper is the strategic partnership between Russia and China in the context of present-day globalization. The relevance of the study is shown by the increasing importance of Russian-Chinese cooperation in the formation of a new global power structure. The author illustrates the main elements of Russian-Chinese strategic partnership, including areas of cooperation, that were established in the 1990s, and areas which received a new impetus at the beginning of the 21st century. Furthermore, the author describes the policy of coordinating the actions of Russia and China in the international arena. In addition, the paper reviews the institutionalization of state institutes, economic, cultural and educational structures that make up the basis of Russia and China current strategic interaction in international affairs. In particular, the author pays attention to the issues of interbank and investment cooperation between Russia and China, including development of banking institutions through the BRICS system. The core argument of the paper is that that Russia and China, despite to the rapid development of globalization, have been able to retain the scale of their national economies and the specificity of cultures, demonstrating openness to a broad dialogue and constructive interaction within the framework of the global civilization. The author has come to the conclusion that the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership is based on compatible approaches to key issues of global development, political and economic pragmatism, and adherence to the basic principles of an equal dialogue of civilizations. This is an important factor to consider in the global development of the 21st century.