JOHN W. GARVER

The Normalization of Post-Soviet Sino-Russian Relations
An irony of history of the late twentieth century is the rapid develop-
ment of cordial relations between the state emerging out of the most im-
portant anti-Communist movement of the century--the Russian Federa-
tion, which formally replaced the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) in December 1991--and the sole remaining major Communist-led
state, the People's Republic of China (PRC). Whereas the CCP defended
its monopoly of state power with violent military force in June 1989, the
Russian anti-Communists led by Boris Yeltsin founded a new state predi-
cated on liberal democratic ideals. Yet those two states quickly came to-
gether to pick up and develop the cordial relations that had begun dur-
ing the late Soviet period and were symbolized by the May 1989 summit
meeting of Deng Xiaoping and Mikhail Gorbachev. ¹

China's willingness to set aside ideological differences and develop
friendly relations with the newly independent Russian Federation arose
out of several considerations. One was the deterioration of China's rela-
tions with the United States and other Western powers following June
1989. Beijing responded to Western sanctions by courting virtually all
countries other than the United States, including especially neighboring
and other Asian countries. Russia was important on two counts. First, it
was a large, neighboring country; that proximity would greatly compli-
cate China's situation if Russia went along with Western criticism of
China. Second, Russia was still a major world power with permanent
membership on the UN Security Council and a large nuclear arsenal;
thus Russia had some potential for mitigating Western hostility. Both Bei-
jing and Moscow also recognized the importance of foreign trade in fos-

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