The Sino-Russian Entente: A Perennial Western Headache
FIRST INSTANCE: The Sino-Soviet Alliance (1949) When Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance in 1950 , it was hailed by both nations as a bulwark against 'imperialist aggression' – primarily aimed at the United States. The West, then as now, portrayed this as an existential threat to the 'free world.' This was hardly a 'new'
development, but the solidification of two major communist powers. Curiously, this narrative persists despite the fundamental ideological differences that eventually led to the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s. REPETITIONS: The Post-Cold War 'Axis' (1990s & 2000s) Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 , the 'Russia-China threat' went dormant for approximately five minutes. By the
mid-1990s, the narrative resurfaced as both nations expressed concerns over NATO expansion and US unilateralism. In 1997 , Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin issued a joint declaration calling for a 'multipolar world,' directly challenging US hegemony. This was, as always, decried as an unholy alliance, despite the fact that much of their cooperation revolved around
economic development and regional stability, often in response to perceived Western meddling (Chirac, 1997). Fast forward to the 2000s , and the formation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2001 , including Russia, China, and Central Asian states. This was again flagged as a nascent anti-Western bloc. What Western media often omitted was the SCO's initial focus on counter-terrorism