Description
The proposed paper is part of a larger research project dealing with developments in Sino-Russian relations during the 1990s. This is an important area of enquiry, because the development of relations between China and Russia during the first decade of the post-Soviet era remains distinctly understudied. This decade built the foundations of what is today described as the ‘highest level in history’ of relations between both states. As such, arguably, a solid understanding of how relations developed during the 1990s is important for an informed assessment of the state and trajectory of contemporary China-Russia relations. Analytically, the paper focuses on the concept of ‘rapprochement’ in Sino-Russian relations. This concept regularly has been referred to in the analytical literature since the Cold War, but it is rarely defined or analysed systematically. How useful is the concept of ‘rapprochement’ for understanding developments in Sino-Russia relations? How should ‘rapprochement’ be defined and how can it be measured? Have China and Russia reached ‘rapprochement’ during the 1990s or subsequently, or is this still an ongoing process?
Key words: China, Russia, Sino-Russian relations, rapprochement, bilateral relations;
