Although there has been some time of honeymoon when the two initially entered into diplomatic ties, China and Russia do not always speak with a united voice in international debates. Additionally, the two have yet to provide anything of much value in their bilateral relationship: They have not reached significant agreements on energy security or expanded trade and generally still regard each other with a level of suspicion.
The truth is that neither country is willing to offer considerable assistance to the other, particularly if it concerns risking a direct confrontation. Unless the West pushes both Russia and China into a security dilemma simultaneously, the mettle of this “alliance” is unlikely to stand any test of time.
On top of that, instability and adversarial relations have colored much of the bilateral history, even though the just-concluded official visit by the hard-line Russian PM Vladimir Putin and, the satisfactory deal of $3.5 billion clinched on his Beijing tour, would somehow warm up the chill felt by the Chinese side delivered by Polar Bear’s ambition to take a substantial bite onto the interests of the Chinese tradesmen.
Perhaps, it is far too optimistic to say the relations between China and Russia have scaled a new height from collaboration to cooperation, as neither the time nor situation is ripe for a more comprehensive partnership.
The events listed as follows are enough to be hard facts showing the six-decade bumpy road the two nations have gone by in terms of bilateral ties. Although the road is full of ups and down, it still points to a rosy prospect.
1949,10
| Russia was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with China
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1949, 12
| Mao Zedong arrived in Moscow on a two-month visit to the Soviet Union
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1950
| The two nations signed a mutual-aid treaty of Sino-Soviet friendly alliance and an agreement on Soviet Union loans to China
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1953-1957
| A series of cooperation agreements signed to assist China’s economic development.
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1958
| “Long-wave radio transmitter” and the “Joint submarine fleet” incidents occurred between
China and the former Soviet Union
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1960
| The Soviet Union withdraws all Soviet experts from China and Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated.
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1966
| The Communist Party of China broke off ties with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
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1969
| A clash broke out in the disputed Damansky island (now known as Zhenbao)
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1982
| Chinese foreign minister Huanghua attended Brezhnev funeral as an envoy
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1989
| Deng Xiaoping met with Mikhail Gorbachev declaring the Sino-Soviet relationship had been
completely normalized
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1990
| Chinese Premier Li Peng made his first official visit to the Soviet Union after bilateral relations are normalized
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1991
| The Sino-Russian Border Agreement was signed apportioning territory that became contested during the Sino-Soviet border conflict.
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1992
| Russian President Yeltsin paid his first official visit to China stressing that China and Russia are friendly countries
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1994
| Chinese President Jiang Zemin was invited to visit Russia and signed Joint Declaration
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1996
| China and Russia established strategic partnership
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1997
| China and Russia signed the Joint Statement by the People's Republic of China and the Establishment of a New International Order
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1998
| Sino-Russian Joint Statement signed
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1999
| The largest Sino-Russian economic cooperation project--Tianwan nuclear power station started construction
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2000
| China and Russia signed a joint statement on anti-missile issue
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2001
| Sino-Russia relations were formalized with the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation
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2004
| The Russian government agreed to transfer Tarabarov Island as well as one half of Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island to China
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2005,6
| Supplementary Agreement on the Eastern Section of China-Russia Boundary Line marked the complete and final resolution to the boundary problem between the two countries.
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2005, 8
| The first China-Russia military exercises, dubbed 'Peace Mission 2005
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2008
| The Sino-Russian Border Line Agreement signed settling the 4,300-kilometer border between the two countries.
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2009
| 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Russia
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2009
| China, Russia sign 12 agreements during Putin's visit
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2009
| The Year of Russian Language in China
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Do you think China and Russia will some day break through the diplomatic bottleneck and develop into a heart-to-heart partnership?
