Abstract

Over the last 20 years, the Russian Federation has voiced repeatedly the willingness to embrace its Asian potential. Harnessing the economic prowess of the Asia-Pacific for the development of Siberia and the Russian Far East was the underlying motivation of Moscow’s pivot to Asia. Before the Ukraine crisis, the gravity of Russia’s pivot was protracted. Its engagement with Asia was seen as a counterbalance to the West rather than as a genuine embrace. This instrumentalized approach gave Russia’s policy a disingenuous feel, leaving no particular imprint on the Asia-Pacific’s economic and security architecture. Since the onset of the Ukraine crisis, Russia intensified its engagement, marking a qualitative shift in its relations with the People’s Republic of China. With the flourishing Sino-Russian strategic partnership at the forefront, the relationship developed mutual economic necessity and geopolitical underpinning.

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