Political Relations between the Russian Federation and China 1999-2015: A Historical Study

The study of Russian Chinese relations is of particular importance, as it represents a model for the formation of international alliances, and reflects the nature of the interaction between two emerging powers that seek to rebalance the international system. Therefore these relations have gone through several stages, starting with the rebuilding of trust after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, through the labors that followed the dynamic transformations in the world order, as that stage was characterized by suspicion, apprehension and caution after the number of failures faced in the relations between the two countries, through the strengthening of partnership under the new Russian leadership. To the advanced coordination in their regional and international issues, to the institutionalization of relations, under civilized legal frameworks according to the standards of international protocols, and through bilateral agreements, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was the most influential interface in the relations between the two countries, and the legalization of their influence in Asia, all these reasons were the main factor for choosing the title: "Political Relations between the Russian Federation and China 1999-2015: A Historical Study."The year 1999 was chosen as the beginning of the subject, as it was the year that witnessed a major political transformation in Moscow, and the rise of a new leadership of the Kremlin, represented by Vladimir Putin, who carried with him a new political vision to run the country, represented in the trend towards building serious relations with Beijing, and the study ended with the year 2015, as it was the year that witnessed the direct military intervention of the Russian army in Syria, supported by Chinese diplomatic and economic support. The course of Russian-Chinese relations can be analyzed as a combination of strategic interests and institutional cooperation (political, economic, military), away from the ideological and historical dimension, which has become a historical obstacle and a stereotype of the conflict between the two countries, instead of being the historical actor that laid the foundations for relations between the two countries, since the early adoption of communist ideas in them. The study relied on two basic approaches in dealing with the historical events occurring within the time frame of the study, as the research relied on a set of methodological approaches, which serve the study of international relations, by trying to review them by analysis and comparison, as well as the historical approach between their positions, and tracking their effects and repercussions on the future of both the Russian Federation and China. While presenting my study to adopt two approaches: the first is descriptive, in which I took into account the political factor, which depends on the chronology of events, as it is one of the basics of historical study, and the second is analytical in the areas that necessitated the interpretation of strategic motives and the analysis of the material studied. He mixed them together to present a convincing picture of the relations between the two countries. The nature of my study subject necessitated the use of an appropriate amount of sources, documents and specialized studies, distributed between English and Chinese translated into English, as well as some sources in other languages, as well as modern Arabic academic studies. The pens of contemporary historians, which required me to take a critical pause to explore the political , economic, and military motives, behind the historians' adoption of their approach to writing events, and their effects on the relations between the two countries