2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship

The Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People's Republic of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

and the Russian Federation
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

(FCT) is a twenty-year strategic

Strategy

Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...

treaty which was signed by the leaders of the two international powers, Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...

and Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

, on July 16, 2001.

Overview

The treaty outlines the broad strokes which are to serve as a basis for peace

Peace

Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...

ful relations, economic cooperation, as well as diplomatic

Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...

and geopolitical

Geopolitics

Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....

reliance. Controversially

Controversy

Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...

, Article 9 of the treaty can be seen as an implicit defense

Defense (military)

Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...

pact

Treaty

A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

, and other articles (A7 and A16) point at increasing military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

cooperation, including the sharing of "military know-how" (A16), namely, Chinese access to Russian military technology.

The treaty also encompasses a mutual, cooperative approach to environmental technology

Environmental technology

Environmental technology or green technology or clean technology is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic devices to monitor, model and conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of...

regulations

Environmental law

Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...

and energy conservation

Energy conservation

Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...

; and toward international finance

International finance

International finance is the branch of economics that studies the dynamics of exchange rates, foreign investment, global financial system, and how these affect international trade. It also studies international projects, international investments and capital flows, and trade deficits. It includes...

and trade

Trade

Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...

. The document affirms Russia's stand on Taiwan as "an inalienable part of China"

Political status of Taiwan

The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become unified with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare...

(A5), and highlights the commitment to ensure the "national unity and territorial integrity" in the two countries (A4).

Possible benefits

Analysts have attributed the motives behind, and perceived mutual benefit of, the FCT to several factors. ^{http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_30_17/ai_77356320}

China

China wishes to develop and modernize its armed forces, much of which remain outdated. This process can be accelerated with Russian military training and technology.

China wants to obtain a stable, consistent and affordable level of fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...

shipments, especially petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

. This goal can be better met with purchases and delivery of Russian oil, including the construction of a Trans-Siberian oil pipeline. ^{http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-11/18/content_282626.htm http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/08/content_476125.htm}

China wishes to attain support for its stance
Cross-Strait relations
Cross-Strait relations refers to the relations between People's Republic of China and the Republic of China , which lie to the west and east, repectively, of the Taiwan Strait in the west Pacific Ocean....

on Taiwan.

Russia

Russia strives to obtain sources of capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...

, which it is in need of following severe losses to international speculators during the process of Soviet dissolution
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...

. This effort can be significantly aided through the use of Chinese capital. Accordingly:
- Russia wants to find sources of employment
  Employment
  Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
  
  for its skilled workforce.
- Russia wants to sell its military technology and expertise.
- Russia wants to sell its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas.

Fear of US encirclement

Both the PRC and Russia fear an encroachment by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

(especially following its strengthened geopolitical position following the September 11, 2001 attacks

September 11, 2001 attacks

The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

) involving areas which they view as belonging to their respective spheres of national influences and interests: for the PRC, this largely involves Taiwan

Political status of Taiwan

serving as a US client state

Client state

Client state is one of several terms used to describe the economic, political and/or military subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs...

, while for Russia it involves having various former Soviet Republics as US client states. Many of these do not border either country, though Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...

and Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

border the PRC, whereas Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

borders both.

Economic competition with the US, Japan and the EU

The United States, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

and the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

are three economic power

Economic power

There is no agreed-upon definition of power in economics. At least five definitions of power have been used:*Purchasing power, i.e., the ability of any amount of money to buy goods and services. Those with more assets, or, more correctly, net worth, have more power of this sort...

s who possess a skilled workforce and access to capital. Russia and the PRC can more effectively compete against these powers in the world economy, with Russia given access to Chinese capital and China given access to Russian training and technology.

External links

Text of the Treaty — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
"China, Russia Sign Good-Neighborly Friendship, Cooperation Treaty" — People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
"China, Russia Sign Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation" (details) — The Chinese Embassy in Norway
"Anniversary of Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty Marked" — China Internet Information Center
"China, Russia to promote military cooperation" — People's Daily
Chinese, Russian leaders exchange new year's greetings" (2006) — Xinhua
"Chinese president arrives in Moscow for state visit" (2005) — People's Daily
"Hu: Sino-Russian ties enter a new phase" — Xinhua
"Russian-Chinese border most problematic ecologically" — RIA Novosti
"Post-Cold War Sino-Russian Relations: An Indian Perspective" — Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses
"Challenges of the Sino-Russian Strategic Partnership" (PDF) — Center for Strategic and International Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
"Power Politics in Central Asia" — Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

Asia Quarterly

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