IRMO Brief 05/2020, "The Dragonbear: An Axis of Convenience or a New Mode of Shaping the Global System?"

Introduction

Over the last decade, a rapprochement between China and Russia has been occasionally discussed as regards a possible strategic alliance between them or the lack of such. I coined the term of “the Dragonbear” in 2015, to mark an
emerging new mode of their bilateral relations aimed at shaping the global order in the 21st century. However, the interpretations of the context of increasing connectivity between the two countries range from very sceptic to
very positive, hence it is too early to point to an outcome in this regard. Yet, there are two plausible directions of recent developments – either an interim axis of convenience destined to fail at some point, or an unprecedented new
mode of shaping the global system through a wide spectrum of systemic coordination.

"The Dragonbear - An unprecedented mode of shaping the global system"

Given that Russia and China are natural rivals, what would they aim to collectively achieve in global affairs?

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