China-Russia Rapprochement
Year: 2025

Abstract Sino-Russian rapprochement has been accelerating since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and has not been put into question since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. This chapter looks at the political and geostrategic drivers of the rapprochement. In particular, the analysis takes into account China’s coalition-building strategy under Xi Jinping and the role of Russia within this strategy. It argues that, even if significant imbalances remain between the