An Exploration And Analysis On Sino-Russian Strategic Partnership Of Cooperation

Reviewing world history, we can find that world development, to a great extent, is like a relationship between great powers that are rising and falling. It is like a process of constant strife, conflict and even war, compromise, cooperation, and fragmenting between great powers with the appearance and disappearance of strength. The development process and the direction of world history are decided by relations among the major powers. Studying on the development of big powers and taking the pulse of big countries' relationships can be an important breakthrough from which we can give us insight into the development trend of world history.After the Cold War, the status and role of big countries have strengthened and increased their influence in international affairs. The major powers constantly adjust their foreign policy according to individual national interests that redivide the world. This leads to some new features: drastic restructuring and reorganization with the coordination of national interests, intertwined with conflicts, competition, and cooperation. Struggle and compromise are occurring; regional cooperation is developing. Economy, science, and technology in international relations, an increasingly important component of a strong comprehensive national strength, have become the main goal of the pursuit. With the background of economic globalization and interdependence, the major powers protect and realize national security and national interests, constantly adjust their mutual relations. We hope that this occurs through communication, consultations, or negotiations, and not through war. The Sino-Russian strategic and cooperative partnership is formed and developed in this background.In the new century, relationships among great powers are still the decisive factors in leading the development of international relations. Both as major world powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council, the influence of China and Russia on the world scene are self-evident. Seen from the view of geopolitics, China and Russia are neighboring countries with common mountain ranges and waterways. They are the two largest territories in Eurasia with strong military power. So, the level and direction of the development of Sino-Russian relations will have a significant influence on the international configuration and relations. In, other words, the development of Sino-Russian relations, whether antagonistic or peaceful, is of great historical and practical significance to the development of the societies and economies of the two countries. It will affect the evolvement of the international situation and promotion of a new international political and economic order that is just and reasonable. From this point of view, the author holds the view that it is of great value to research the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership.As to China, two mutual relations are most important. One is the Sino-US relationship and the other is the Sino-Russian one. The latter has been full of twists and turns since the 17th century when China and Russia opened relations. Especially since the foundation of the 'new' China, the mutual relationship has gone up and down. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, people in Russia and in China are worried about the relationship. Russia gave up Communism and China has maintained socialism. The breakdown of Russia's dream to join the west and the adjustment of its foreign policies led Russia to take China as an ever rising factor in its diplomatic strategy. Not only have the two nations realized the transition from Sino-U.S.S.R to Sino-Russia relations, they have also gradually become strategic and cooperative partners. As a result, their relationship has become more normal. Moreover, China and Russia are large countries. They dwell as neighbors, with Russia's southern boundaries close to the northern boundaries of China. They share a special geopolitical atmosphere and different historical and cultural backgrounds. The two great nations pursue different ideologies and implement completely, distinct reforms. The fact that a strategic and cooperative partnership can be set up and constantly develop between them is a question for study which has important significance.Relating to the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, not only in China but also in Russia, numerous organizations and scholars are carrying on research and putting forward respective views. Among them, the Eastern Europe and Central Asia graduate school of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Russian Study Center of East China Normal University, and the Far East Graduate School of the Russian Science Academy are representative research communities. Mr. Lee (Lee Jingjie ), Mr. Feng (Feng Shaolei), Mr. Jitalenkov Branch, and Mr. Yakovlev are representative scholars who study the Sino-Russian relationship in these organizations. Works such as Yeltsin ages of Russia (Volume diplomacy) (Edited in chief by Lee Jingjie), The relationship among Russian, powerful countries and periphery (Edited in chief by Feng Shaolei and Xiang Lanxin), Russia, China and the world (Written by Yakovlev), and other works carry on more concentrated analysis of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. In addition, the Asia-Pacific Research Institute of Shandong University and East Study Graduate School of the Russian Science Academy, in 1997, reached an academic exchange agreement on "Sino-Russian development of economy and society and Sino-Russian relationship issues." They decided to discuss and exchange views on this topic by holding bilateral meetings and publishing a collection of academic treatises of high quality. By 2003, both sides have published three collections of treatises in all; some of the treatises discuss and analyze the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. In addition, my tutor, Prof. Wang Shaoxing, has published a series of treatises that are related to the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, such as "Discussion of the influence of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership to Asia-Pacific new order" and "Thinking bout Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly cooperation relation". They have had a great enlightening influence on my treatise writing.After taking a broad view of the works and articles on Sino-Russian relations published in succession, I find that they mainly focus on analyzing the developing process of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership and problems that have emerged during the process. However, they only make a sketchy analysis of the counter-measures to protect the development of this partnership and the prospect of Sino-Russian relations.Therefore, I have chosen "An exploration and analysis on Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation" as the title of my doctoral dissertation after combining my major and personal interest, along with the instruction of my tutor. It is because of the diligent cultivation and exploration of every senior and fellow student who offered their research results that my study could have a solid foundation. It is also on the basis of absorbing their research results that this article will make a further study.The approaches and methods of this thesis fragment. First, the study of this thesis is based on the principles which are also the premise of doing any research. It will apply the methodology of Marxist ideology whose essence is dialectical analysis and to 'call a rascal a rascal.' That is to say a comprehensive, interrelated and progressing point of view is required when making a study. We should admit that the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership is turning a fine situation on the whole, and pay attention to the barriers and problems that restrict the development of the two countries' relations. Only this way can we get a relatively comprehensive grasp of the prospect of the development on the two states' relationship. Second, I will use positive approaches to study the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. I majored in Russian both as a graduate and postgraduate, and, therefore, I can make full use of the original materials, internet resources as well as the latest first-hand materials to make the arguments. Finally, I will try to take advantage of some related theories of international relations, such as realism and constructionism, to present a comparatively deep analysis and better serve the cause of the Socialism of Chinese Special Features healthfully.This disquisition will include five sections in all. The first chapter will introduce is the forming and development of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership after the disintegration of the U.S.S.R. According to this, the content and characteristic of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership have been summarized and explained. The aim of chapter 2 is to explain the influence and the function of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. The writer holds the view that the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership benefits in carrying out multi-polarization, international relations, democratization, and the establishment of the international new order, contributes to impel harmonious and development of the region, and provides a new model for international relations toward the world. It assists in creating a safe, stable peripheral environment for China's rising and the carrying out the great renew of China. Chapter 3 mainly discussed the motivation for the establishment and development of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. The disquisition points out the reason for the building up and smooth development of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. It is related to the summing-up of the two countries' leaders and drawing on the experience and of development of the Sino-Russian (Soviet Union) relationship. This especially includes "mutual respect with equality" and "surmount fetters of ideology." These two can be called the historic factors of the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. As to the aspect of nations and region, the economic globalization accelerates continuously under the condition that peace, development, and cooperation become the topic of times, economies all round the world are more and more dependent on each other: "you are the part of me, and I am also the part of you. " At the same time, the world political development trend presents as multipolarization, the "attempt" for achieving unipolar is increasingly boycotted and spurned very much. But China and Russia which are the two independent poles of the world have extensive benefits and consistent standpoints for promoting world multipolarization. It can be said that the economic globalization has provided abundant material motive for the development of Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, the world multipolarization provides much more political motive for the development of this kind of relationship, and the center of the world development which is transferring toward the Pacific Asia region, provides vast cooperation platform and space for these two great neighboring countries which have special advantage in political geography. As talking about the Sino-Russian per se, both of them can be considered as social transformation nation. They mainly have the same current capital missions-developing the economy, strengthening the national strength, and prospering the nation. They all want to attain the national benefit, raise the international positions and fight for peaceful international environment especially stable surroundings, and make these as their strategic targets. The two countries' respective target need of national interest provided abundant internal motive for the establishment and development of Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. Chapter 4 mainly is analyzed Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership relating to some problems ("Chinese threat theory", "the government is cold though the economy is hot" in the Sino-Russian relationship, the bilateral humanist cooperation is weak, the negative factor in the Russian culture, the impediments of American factor and so forth.) existed in its development. The writer thinks that to handle and solve these problems appropriately is definitely an important condition for the healthy and stable development of Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. The "knot speech" part in the end makes prospective analysis for the development of Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. This thesis thinks that there are three kinds of outlooks in the development of Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership: The first, the influences on the problem become complicated and aggravated in the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership so that Russian finally "pours to "the west and builds up an anti- China alliance with the west, which ends up to an breach even a conflict with China in the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership .The second, Russia and China become strategic allies formally with Shanghai Cooperation Organization to rely on, unite India, Central Asia countries and other anti-American powers to found a new political and military organization which is opposite to NATO .The third, the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership continues further and deeply with the current situation, resolving the existing problems in the bilateral relation gradually, neither forming alliance nor becoming alienated between both parties, moving forward in the Sino-Russian and U.S. relations through relatively positive interactions. The writer tends to believe that in the future the two countries will march forward along the third path , namely the Sino-Russian neither turn to become "ally" in the traditional sense nor "split" or become "strangers ", more impossibly to become enemies , because in the foreseeable future at least, there won't possibly be a chance to aggravate the problems which will block or even disrupt the development of the two countries' relationship.I think this thesis is characterized by three points. 1. In order to explain the establishment and development of Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, I try to elaborate the reasons comprehensively through two directions, longitudinal and horizontal, and two aspects, inside and outside, with the emphasis on historic experiences, outside environment, inner pushing powers and so on. Therefore, in this way, the thesis shows deeply the inevitability of the establishment and development of Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. 2. To some extent, it is prospective in analyzing the prospect of the development of Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, especially when such analysis is based on the research on the problems existing in Sino-Russian relationship and the policies to solve them. And I think this analysis can tell the tendency of the development of Sino-Russian relationship comprehensively. 3. As for the method of research, I insist on basing my research on Marxist methodology and emphasizing positive method. In order to make every argument convincing and avoid parroting others' words and making conclusions casually, I have tried my best to use the latest materials.At last, it should be pointed out that the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership has lasted rightly 10 years, since the establishment in 1996. In the past ten years, generally speaking, Sino-Russian relationship has developed smoothly, in spite of some difficulties and frustrations. However, because of the constant changes in international institution and the complicated factors which will influence the Sino-Russian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, the development of this relationship may not be very smooth in the future, consequently which will make the research much harder. The arguments in this thesis are only my own opinions, so some of them need deliberation. Meanwhile, the shortcomings in this thesis need criticisms and corrections from other experts and scholars.