China and Russia explaining a long, complicated friendship

News Summary

  • In 1959, the Soviet Union remained neutral during a border conflict between China and India, which led China to feel that it was not getting enough support from its ally.The relationship soured until the two countries broke off their alliance in 1961 in the Sino-Soviet Split.
  • “Many Chinese people, including elites, have not yet realized the historic reversal of China’s comprehensive national strength compared to Russia,” wrote Feng Yujun, a prominent Russia scholar at Shanghai’s Fudan University, in an article published last month that was shared widely.
  • The two countries also had a formal military alliance, but Moscow decided against giving China the technology for nuclear arms.
  • Russia supplies energy and China exports manufactured goods to Russia.And while some analysts and commentators have started saying that China is now the senior partner in the relationship, given the history, it’s not necessarily how that’s viewed in China.Russia’s hold over China is not only historical, but also cultural.
  • In the years since, the world has changed greatly, as have the fortunes of the two countries.
  • The People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, following a brutal Japanese occupation during World War II and a bloody civil war between the Nationalist and Communist Parties.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) Chinese leader Xi Jinping just concluded a threeday visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a warm affair in which the two men praised each other and spoke of a profound fri [+5107 chars]