A complex China-Russia relationship is characterized by asymmetry and necessity, not ideological alignment. Russia increasingly seeks external validation from Xi Jinping, while China engages pragmatically.

Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Aleksei Chigadaev, Analyst on China-Russia Relations and Associate Research Fellow at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre (NEST Centre). Rather than reinforcing a narrative of a triumphant anti Western alliance, Chigadaev portrays a highly complex relationship marked by asymmetry, strategic necessity, and quiet unease. Far from depicting a partnership of equals, he argues that Russia increasingly seeks “legitimacy from the outside” through highly choreographed e...