Russian-Chinese Cooperation Is Not As Temporary As You Think

Many believe the Russian-Chinese partnership, which functions across a variety of economic and political spheres, is only temporary. But Moscow’s disenchantment with the West, and the redirection of its foreign policy toward Beijing and beyond, is rooted in Russian historical thinking. The disagreement between Russia and the West is a full-scale geopolitical separation.

Roadmap for a Chinese-Iranian Strategic Partnership

Relations between Iran and China go as far back as the ancient Silk Road – but despite the recent establishment of a formal comprehensive strategic partnership between the two, Beijing’s economic, political, and strategic interests remain too complex and self-contradictory to permit a close alignment with Tehran. In the post-JCPOA era, China is likely to remain Iran’s top economic partner in the coming years, but it is a mistake to overestimate the Sino-Iranian partnership. The US’s anti-Iran policy and the sanctions that accompany it could prevent the emergence of a more solid partnership.

Diverging Gulf Responses to Kashmir and Xinjiang Reflect Deep Divisions

Recent diametrically opposed responses to the repression of Muslims by China, India, and other Asian countries highlight deep differences among the Gulf states that ripple across Asia.

Will There Be a New Russian-Chinese Security Architecture in the Gulf?

Russia, backed by China, is hoping to exploit mounting doubts in the Gulf about the reliability of the US as the region’s sole security guarantor. It is proposing a radical overhaul of the security architecture in the area, which is home to massive oil and gas reserves and some of the world’s most strategic waterways.

A Risky Gamble: Official Turkish Delegation to Inspect Troubled Xinjiang

An official Turkish visit to the troubled northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang to assess reports of a brutal crackdown on the region’s Turkic Muslims could shape Turkey’s challenge to conservative Gulf states’ leadership of the Islamic world and complicate Muslim silence about the most frontal assault on their faith in recent history.

Muslim Causes vs. National Interests: Muslim Nations Make Risky Bets

Saudi attitudes toward the plight of thousands of illegal Rohingya in the kingdom fleeing persecution in Myanmar and squalid Bangladeshi refugee camps help explain Saudi support for China’s brutal clampdown on Turkic Muslims in its troubled northwestern province of Xinjiang.

Expect a War Between Russia and China in the 2020s

Notwithstanding the seeming friendship between Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin, and the growing congruence of both countries’ interests in undermining the US-led international order, relations between Russia and China remain at their core as brittle and prone to mutual suspicion and distrust as they have in the past. It is not unreasonable to expect that that underlying animosity will erupt into violence in the relatively near future.

The Gulf States and the New Silk Road

The rise of the People's Republic of China over the past two decades has significantly changed the global economy. This development represents an opportunity for the Gulf states as they seek to diversify their economies, increase trade, and locate investment opportunities in emerging markets. By promoting China’s Belt and Road Initiative, they can boost their own national development plans through access to Beijing’s favorable business conditions, expertise, and experience.

Russia’s and China’s Geopolitical Offensive in Africa

Emil Avdaliani
July 10, 2019
Paper No. 1223

Both China and Russia have increased their influence on the African continent through money, diplomacy, and other measures – efforts that go directly against US interests. Washington has paid little attention to Africa and will find it difficult to compete with Moscow and Beijing, particularly as other geopolitical theaters require its immediate attention.

The Hong Kong Demonstrations

Though it has been a part of China since 1997 following the transfer of power from Great Britain, Hong Kong enjoys autonomy, a separate judiciary, an independent political system (except for foreign affairs, which are managed by the central government in Beijing), and a free media. The extradition bill recently proposed by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam would have severely compromised the separation between the two entities. The bill was vigorously protested by the people of Hong Kong in demonstrations of extraordinary magnitude. The vote was postponed to June 20 and then suspended indefinitely.