Abstract
Scholars studying Sino-Russian relations point at the informal division of labour between Russia and China in global governance. Russia remains active in international security governance, whereas China has increased the level of its participation in areas of economic, financial and environmental governance. These differences are ascribed to the different potential of both states as well as their related varied scope of interests in a well-functioning global governance system. However, this division of labour has evolved for the past couple of years. Beijing increased its engagement with international security governance, while Moscow lost some of its (already limited) interest in such areas as environmental or economic governance. This chapter aims at exploring this shift and its implications. Rather than analysing Sino-Russian relations in distinct areas of global governance, it proposes a different approach and identifies three patterns of interactions between the two countries: direct cooperation, parallel activities and contradictory/divergent activities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The veto list is available at https://research.un.org/en/docs/sc/quick.
- 2.
For the last time, Russia took a meaningful part in the multilateral peacekeeping operation in the Balkans, withdrawing in 2003.
References
Alden, Chris, et al., eds. 2017. China and Africa: Building Peace and Security Cooperation on the Continent. Cham: Springer.
Allison, Roy. 2017. Russia and the Post-2014 International Legal Order: Revisionism and Realpolitik. International Affairs 93 (3): 519–543. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iix061.
Ambrosio, Thomas. 2017. The Architecture of Alignment: The Russia–China Relationship and International Agreements. Europe-Asia Studies 69 (1): 110–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2016.1273318.
Beeson, Mark, and Jinghan Zeng. 2018. The BRICS and Global Governance: China’s Contradictory Role. Third World Quarterly 39 (10): 1962–1978. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2018.1438186.
Belokurova, Elena. 2017. A Russian Perspective on Global Governance. In Global Governance from Regional Perspectives: A Critical View, ed. Anna Triandafyllidou, 141–160. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bluhm, Richard, et al. 2018. Connective Financing: Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries. AidData Working Paper, no. 64. http://docs.aiddata.org/ad4/pdfs/WPS64_Connective_Financing_Chinese_Infrastructure_Projects_and_the_Diffusion_of_Economic_Activity_in_Developing_Countries.pdf
Chan, Steve, et al. 2018. Discerning States’ Revisionist and Status-quo Orientations: Comparing China and the US. European Journal of International Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066118804622.
Channel News Asia. 2019. China Rebuffs Germany’s Call for US Missile Deal with Russia. February 17. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/china-rebuffs-germany-s-call-for-us-missile-deal-with-russia-11250882
Cho, Sunghee. 2018. China’s Participation in UN Peacekeeping Operations since the 2000s. Journal of Contemporary China. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2018.1542216.
CNBC. 2018. Russia, China Abstain in UN Vote on Syria Cross-Border Aid. December 13. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/14/russia-china-abstain-in-un-vote-on-syria-cross-border-aid.html
Cooper, Andrew F. 2017. The BRICS’ New Development Bank: Shifting from Material Leverage to Innovative Capacity. Global Policy 8 (3): 275–284. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12458.
De Cordier, Bruno. 2016. Russia’s International Aid Donorship: From Diplomatic Status Symbol to ‘Frontline Aid’? Global Affairs 2 (1): 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/23340460.2016.1127453.
Ebert, Hannes, and Tim Maurer. 2013. Contested Cyberspace and Rising Powers. Third World Quarterly 34 (6): 1054–1074. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2013.802502.
Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, Mette. 2016. Power and Purpose in Transgovernmental Networks: Insights from the Global Nonproliferation Regime. In The New Power Politics: Networks and Transnational Security Governance, ed. Deborah Avant and Oliver Westerwinter, 131–168. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fair, Christine C. 2018. Rohingya: Victims of a Great Game East. The Washington Quarterly 41 (3): 63–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/0163660X.2018.1519356.
Farnsworth, Timothy. 2011. China and Russia Submit Cyber Proposal. Arms Control Today 41 (9): 35–36. https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2011_11/China_and_Russia_Submit_Cyber_Proposal.
Fook, Lye L. 2017. China and Global Governance: A More Active Role on a Selective Basis. China: An International Journal 15 (1): 214–233.
Godement, Francois. 2015. China: Taking Stock Before the Paris Conference. European Council on Foreign Relations (September). https://www.ecfr.eu/page/-/CA_1509_Climate.pdf.
Godement, Francois, et al. 2018. The United Nations of China: A Vision of the World Order. European Council on Foreign Relations (April). http://www.ecfr.eu/page/-/the_united_nations_of_china_a_vision_of_the_world_order.pdf.
Götz, Elias, and Camille-Renaud Merlen. 2018. Russia and the Question of World Order. European Politics and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/23745118.2018.1545181.
Grant, Charles. 2012. Russia, China and Global Governance. London: Centre for European Reform. https://carnegieendowment.org/files/Grant_CER_Eng.pdf.
Hameiri, Shahar, and Lee Jones. 2018. China Challenges Global Governance? Chinese International Development Finance and the AIIB. International Affairs 94 (3): 573–593. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiy026.
Hearson, Martin, and Wilson Prichard. 2018. China’s Challenge to International Tax Rules and the Implications for Global Economic Governance. International Affairs 94 (6): 1287–1307. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiy189.
Hilton, Isabel, and Oliver Kerr. 2017. The Paris Agreement: China’s ‘New Normal’ Role in International Climate Negotiations. Climate Policy 17 (1): 48–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2016.1228521.
Japan Times. 2018. U.N. Security Council Considers Move to Push Myanmar on Rohingya Crisis, but Russia and China Boycott Talks. December 18. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/12/18/asia-pacific/u-n-security-council-considers-move-push-myanmar-rohingya-crisis-russia-china-boycott-talks#.XG1-ZugzbIV.
Jordan, Pamela A. 2017. Diminishing Returns: Russia’s Participation in the World Trade Organization. Post-Soviet Affairs 33 (6): 452–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586X.2017.1388473.
Kaczmarski, Marcin. 2018. Convergence or Divergence? Visions of World Order and the Russian-Chinese Relationship. European Politics and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/23745118.2018.1545185.
Kanet, Roger E. 2018. Russia and Global Governance: The Challenge to the Existing Liberal Order. International Politics 55 (2): 177–188. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-017-0075-3.
Kennedy, Scott, ed. 2017. Global Governance and China: The Dragon’s Learning Curve. Abingdon/New York: Routledge.
Kirton, John, and Marina Larionova, eds. 2018. BRICS and Global Governance. London: Routledge.
Kitano, Naohiro. 2018. China’s Foreign Aid: Entering a New Stage. Asia-Pacific Review 25 (1): 90–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/13439006.2018.1484617.
Korppoo, Anna, and Alexey Kokorin. 2017. Russia’s 2020 GHG Emissions Target: Emission Trends and Implementation. Climate Policy 17 (2): 113–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2015.1075373.
Lanteigne, Marc. 2018. Russia, China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Diverging Security Interests and the ‘Crimea Effect’. In Russia’s Turn to the East, ed. Helge Blakkisrud and Elana Wilson Rowe, 119–138. Cham: Palgrave Pivot.
Larson, Deborah Welch. 2018. New Perspectives on Rising Powers and Global Governance: Status and Clubs. International Studies Review 20 (2): 247–254. https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viy039.
Lewis, David, John Heathershaw, and Nick Megoran. 2018. Illiberal Peace? Authoritarian Modes of Conflict Management. Cooperation and Conflict 53 (4): 486–506. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0010836718765902.
Liu, Ming. 2016. BRICS Development: A Long Way to a Powerful Economic Club and New International Organization. The Pacific Review 29 (3): 443–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2016.1154688.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2014. Concept of the Russian Federation’s State Policy in the Area of International Development Assistance. April 20. http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/official_documents/-/asset_publisher/CptICkB6BZ29/content/id/64542.
Ministry of National Defense. 2019. Chinese Naval Fleets Escort 3,400 Foreign Ships over Past 10 Years. January 1. http://eng.mod.gov.cn/news/2019-01/02/content_4833368.htm.
News 24. 2018. C. Africa Rebels Rearm After Military Gets Russia Weapons: UN Panel. August 1. https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/c-africa-rebels-rearm-after-military-gets-russia-weapons-un-panel-20180801.
Parker, Charles F., and Christer Karlsson. 2010. Climate Change and the European Union’s Leadership Moment: An Inconvenient Truth? Journal of Common Market Studies 48 (4): 923–943. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5965.2010.02080.x.
Percy, Sarah. 2016. Counter-Piracy in the Indian Ocean: Networks and Multinational Military Cooperation. In The New Power Politics: Networks and Transnational Security Governance, ed. Deborah Avant and Oliver Westerwinter, 245–268. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Qobo, Mzukisi, and Mills Soko. 2015. The Rise of Emerging Powers in the Global Development Finance Architecture: The Case of the BRICS and the New Development Bank. South African Journal of International Affairs 22 (3): 277–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2015.1089785.
Ren, Xiao. 2016. China as an Institution-Builder: The Case of the AIIB. The Pacific Review 29 (3): 435–442. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2016.1154678.
Reuters. 2019. Shuttered at Home, Cement Plants Bloom Along China’s New Silk Road. January 31. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-silkroad-cement-insight/shuttered-at-home-cement-plants-bloom-along-chinas-new-silk-road-idUSKCN1PO35T.
RFERL. 2017. China, Russia Block UN Statement on Myanmar Violence, Diplomats Say. March 17. https://www.rferl.org/a/china-russia-united-nations-myanmar-rakhine-rohingya/28376375.html.
Rodkiewicz, Witold. 2018. China’s Junior Partner: Russia’s Korean Policy. Warsaw: Centre for Eastern Studies. https://www.osw.waw.pl/sites/default/files/PW_72_China%E2%80%99s%20junior%20partner_net.pdf.
Schwirtz, Michael. 2018. Anguish at U.N., but No Action Plan, for Rohingya Atrocities. The New York Times, August 28. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/world/asia/un-rohingya-myanmar-blanchett.html.
Snetkov, Aglaya, and Marc Lanteigne. 2014. ‘The Loud Dissenter and Its Cautious Partner’: Russia, China, Global Governance and Humanitarian Intervention. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 15 (1): 113–146. https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcu018.
Solanko, Laura. 2016. Opening Up or Closing the Door for Foreign Trade: Russia and China Compared. BOFIT Policy Brief, no. 8. https://helda.helsinki.fi/bof/bitstream/handle/123456789/14372/bpb0816.pdf?sequence=1.
The Guardian. 2017. China and Russia Oppose UN Resolution on Rohingya. December 24. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/24/china-russia-oppose-un-resolution-myanmar-rohingya-muslims.
Tronchetti, Fabio, and Liu Hao. 2015. The 2014 Updated Draft PPWT: Hitting the Spot or Missing the Mark? Space Policy 33 (1): 38–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2015.05.004.
Tynkkynen, Veli-Pekka, and Nina Tynkkynen. 2018. Climate Denial Revisited: (Re)contextualising Russian Public Discourse on Climate Change During Putin 2.0. Europe-Asia Studies 70 (7): 1103–1120. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2018.1472218.
Umbach, Frank. 2019. China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Its Energy-Security Dimensions. RSIS Working Paper, no. 320. https://www.rsis.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/WP320.pdf.
Westerwinter, Oliver. 2016. “Bargaining in Networks: Relationships and the Governance of Conflict Diamonds.” In The New Power Politics: Networks and Transnational Security Governance Deborah Avant & Oliver Westerwinter, 196-223. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Xinhuanet. 2019. Xi’s Article on Building Ecological Civilization to Be Published. January 31. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/31/c_137790087.htm.
Yu, Bin. 2019. From Global Governance to Global Disorder? Implications for Russia and China. In Sino-Russian Relations in the 21st Century, ed. Jo Inge Bekkevold and Bobo Lo, 191–214. Cham: Springer.
Zaytsev, Y., and A. Knobel. 2017. Ekonomicheskaya pomoshch Rossii drugim stranam v 2016 godu. Monitoring Ekonomicheskoi Situatsii v Rossii 17 (55): 14–18.
Zhao, Suisheng. 2018. China and the South China Sea Arbitration: Geopolitics Versus International Law. Journal of Contemporary China 27 (109): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2017.1363012.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kaczmarski, M. (2020). Russia and China in Global Governance. In: Parlar Dal, E., Erşen, E. (eds) Russia in the Changing International System. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21832-4_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21832-4_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21831-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21832-4
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)