Resurgent China-Russia relations have formed a new and major factor in global politics over the last decade and especially in the last few years. The current world order has come to resemble in some disturbing respects the two distinct and hostile camps that characterized the early Cold War period. Indeed, accelerating cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in the military, diplomatic, and economic spheres has been widely seen as a major threat to US national security. However, the surprise election of Donald Trump may appear to disrupt the unfolding logic described above. Undoubtedly, a rapprochement between Washington and Moscow that mitigates or even eradicates the sense of a “New Cold War” would impact on the other key lattices of the classic strategic triangle: both Russia-China relations as well as the all-important US-China relationship.  This talk will draw on unique Chinese and Russian source material to evaluate the prospects for such a major tectonic geopolitical shift.

Further information on the topic can be found here.

Lyle J. Goldstein is an associate professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI), which was established at U.S. Naval War College in October 2006 to improve mutual understanding and maritime cooperation with China. He served as the founding director of CMSI from 2006 to 2011. Recently, his research has focused on various quandaries in U.S.-China relations, including the imperative to enhance maritime cooperation.