page_title: History of Sino-Russian relations
section_title: Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
hierarchical_section_title: History of Sino-Russian relations / Soviet Union, Republic of China, People's Republic of China / Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: Monument at the graves of the Soviet aviators who died while fighting the Japanese invaders in 1938. (Jiefang Park, Hankou, Wuhan) Русский: Монумент у захоронения советских летчиков-добровольцев, погибших в 1938 г. при защите Китая от японских захватчиков 中文: 苏联空军志愿队烈士墓，在武汉市（汉口）解放公园
context_page_description: Prior to the 17th century China and Russia were on opposite ends of Siberia, which was populated by independent nomads. By about 1640 Russian settlers had traversed most of Siberia and founded settlements in the Amur River basin. From 1652 to 1689, China's armies drove the Russian settlers out, but after 1689, China and Russia made peace and established trade agreements.
  By the mid-19th century, China's economy and military lagged far behind the colonial powers. It signed unequal treaties with Western countries and Russia, through which Russia annexed the Amur basin and Vladivostok. The Russian Empire and Western powers exacted many other concessions from China, such as indemnities for anti-Western riots, control over China's tariffs, and extraterritorial agreements including legal immunity for foreigners and foreign businesses.
  Meanwhile, Russian culture and society, especially the elite, were westernized. The ruler of Russia officially was no longer called tsar but emperor, an import from Western Europe.
  Issues that affected only Russia and China were mainly the Russian-Chinese border since Russia, unlike the Western countries, bordered China.
context_section_description: In 1931, the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria and created the puppet state of Manchukuo (1932), which signalled the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1937, a month after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Soviet Union established a non-aggression pact with the Republic of China. During the World War II-period, the two countries suffered more losses than any other country, with China (in the Second Sino-Japanese war) losing over 35 million and the Soviet Union 27 million people.
caption: Monument to Soviet aviators in Wuhan
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