Sino-Russian relations in the 21st century

International Relations scholars have been paying closer attention to Sino-Russian ties ever since the Kremlin's fallout with the West over Ukraine and Syria. The book under review, co-edited by Jo Inge Bekkevold and Bobo Lo, reflects this renewed interest and provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the Sino-Russian relationship, its current state and perspectives. While a number of contributors discuss ‘compulsory’ topics, such as military cooperation, energy trade and policies in central Asia, the volume also sheds light on new and understudied aspects of the relationship: in the Middle East, the Arctic and Europe's reactions to Sino-Russian rapprochement. The editors divided their tasks—Bobo Lo wrote the introduction and Jo Inge Bekkevold the conclusion. Following Lo's opening, the book presents the Chinese (Mingjiang Li and Angela Poh) and Russian (Alexander Gabuev) strategic perspectives on cooperation. Part two focuses on the bilateral and regional aspects of the relationship, whereas the third section discusses in detail the global dimension of Sino-Russian relations. The volume addresses questions about both states' perception of the international system, the place of the other in each state's foreign policy, the influence of growing power asymmetry on the relationship, the gap between rhetoric and reality, and the resilience of the relationship to external shocks, such as economic crises.