Russian-Chinese relations: achievements, problems and prospects

The article presents conclusions from the analysis of the current state of Russian-Chinese cooperation, as well as the prospects for its development in new geopolitical conditions. Before the Ukrainian crisis, the two countries' rapprochement was facilitated by the complementarity of Russia and China. After the start of the special military operation, relations between Moscow and Beijing transformed into a strategic alliance that arose as a result of the long-term confrontation between both sides and the West. The main characteristics of the foreign policy of Russia and China are the desire to promote a polycentric world order and the denial of the use of force in international affairs, which underlines the desire of the two countries for close cooperation in solving global problems.The purpose of the study was to study the real dynamics of relations between Russia and China after the start of a special military operation, with an emphasis on the main prospects and threats of such cooperation for Russia's national security.  The research methodology included methods of source studies, system analysis, economic theory, political science, documentary studies, historiography, analogy and computational linguistics. The main conclusion of the study is that the alliance of Russia and China is not an equal partnership on mutually beneficial terms. To avoid geo-economic and strategic dependence on China, Russia needs to diversify its energy exports. Russia is quite successful in circumventing the sanctions restrictions of the United States and its allies, using the Chinese market to fill the commodity deficit. At the same time, China's share in Russian imports will continue to grow, but there will be no full replacement, since Chinese companies and Chinese authorities are afraid of the announcement of secondary sanctions. Given the similarity of the political and economic conditions of both countries, their interdependence will only increase, despite the inequality in economic power. And yet Beijing has not yet become a full-fledged ally of Moscow in the fight against Western influence. In this regard, Russia needs to expand and deepen cooperation with other Asian countries.

russian-chinese relations, national security of Russia, economic sanctions, Asia-Pacific region, military-technical cooperation, challenges of the world system, ukrainian crisis, export of energy carriers, sanction restrictions, geopolitical interests