China and Russia are solidifying their bilateral relationship as the former looks westward and the latter turns to its east borders. In this podcast with Paul Haenle, Dmitri Trenin discusses the conditions that are leading to stronger China-Russian ties, including China’s growing influence in Eurasia and Russia’s shifting foreign policy orientation. 

Trenin believes that China and Russia are forming an entente, a relationship that is more than a partnership but less than an alliance. He argues that China has become a larger factor in Russia’s foreign policy out of necessity, given Russian isolation after the Ukraine crisis. At the same time, Trenin insists that Russian leaders realize that China cannot take the place of Russia’s relations with the West, and he notes that they are seeking to avoid allowing China too much influence over Moscow despite Beijing's more favorable geopolitical positioning.

Dmitri Trenin

Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, has been with the center since its inception. He also chairs the research council and the Foreign and Security Policy Program.

Paul Haenle

Paul Haenle is the director of the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. Prior to joining Carnegie, he served from June 2007 to June 2009 as the director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolian Affairs on the National Security Council staffs of former president George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.