Axis of convenience : Moscow, Beijing, and the new geopolitics /

Lo (Chatham House, UK) analyzes the China-Russia relationship since the mid-1990s and projects the trajectory of this relationship. He presents the relationship as driven on both sides by tactical geopolitical considerations, not by a convergence of strategic or political orientations. He moves the reader toward this assessment through an examination of the burdens of history, the differences in Chinese and Russian security concerns, their differing economic imperatives (especially in terms of energy), their divergent interests in Central and East Asia, and their varying degrees of collaboration with the US. Lo argues that the improved China-Russia relationship will persist for some time as both parties desire the benefits of secure borders, expanded trade, and the enhanced international influence that comes with containing the unilateral actions of the US. While Lo ends by noting that this axis of convenience will be challenged by the rise of China as a regional and global power, his analysis implies that the interests of both parties will continue to be served over the long term by an axis of convenience and that this relationship need not pose a threat to neighboring countries or the US. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and all undergraduate collections. J. M. Peek Lyon College

In this timely, eloquent and meticulously researched assessment of the "strategic partnership" between Russia and China, Lo (Vladimir Putin and the Evolution of Russian Foreign Policy) explores how their alliance has evolved on political, economic and military fronts. The author counters recent claims that cooperation has reached "a level unprecedented in history" with salient examples of opportunism and narrowly defined self-interest on issues ranging from foreign policy and energy to weapons and national security. While the image of a formal, longstanding partnership bolters their standing in the international community--and as a counterbalance to U.S. hegemony--there are fault lines: Russia fears Chinese irredentism in its far eastern regions (once part of imperial China during the Qing dynasty and inhabited by ethnic Chinese populations), and China must temper its need for Russian energy and weapons to avoid perceptions of dependence and risking its important trade links with the U.S. Lo suggests possible directions in which these ties and hierarchies are likely to shift in the next decade, illuminating the mechanisms and realities behind rhetoric and media-spin in which political regimes are often complicit. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved