No 7 (2024)

The United States views the Chinese peace plan for Ukraine primarily as part of its strategic rivalry with China, trying to downplay its significance, and distort its meaning in order to promote its anti-Russian narrative. As a result, the configuration of the USA-ChinaRussia “Triangle” is changing: contrary to the original intention of the American authors of its formation, as US-Chinese and Russian-American relations worsen, Russian-Chinese strategic partnership relations are significantly strengthened.

The launch of special military operations and a new round of Russia-Ukraine conflict are essentially the outbreak of decades of grievances between Russia and the United States over the issue of NATO's eastward expansion. After the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, the United States entered the "unilateral era" and continued to promote NATO's eastward expansion and strategically squeezed Russia, causing Russia's insecurity to continue to rise. At the same time, this Russia-Ukraine conflict also occurred against the backdrop of the United States’ comprehensive advancement of strategic competition with China. By hyping up the joint statement issued by China and Russia in February 2022 and spreading rumors about China's advance knowledge of its actions against Russia, the United States is trying to direct international pressure on China. Although China is not a party to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the deep-seated impact of the conflict on the global political, economic, and security landscape has gradually spread to China-US relations, and several sets of "big triangle" relationships involving China, such as China-US-Russia, China-US-Europe, and other groups of China-US-EU, are also facing profound adjustments. Globalization and regional security have been further frustrated by geopolitical conflicts, the "economic war" and "political war" between major powers have been deepened, the status of the United Nations has been declining day by day, and the global arms race has suddenly intensified. Based on the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT), this paper comprehensively analyzes the regional and global impacts of special military operations, geo-security contradictions, and the conflict of interests between the two most important world powers, China and the United States. The Russia-Ukraine conflict will continue to affect the adjustment of strategic interests among major powers, and the prospects of China-Russia cooperation and the Asia-Pacific region will determine the direction of the evolution of the future world pattern.

The article analyzes Washington's sanctions policy towards Russia and China, the countermeasures taken by Moscow and Beijing, as well as the most acute areas of confrontation between the parties. The main conclusion of the study is the postulate about the ineffectiveness of the imposed sanctions and the failure to achieve the initial goals – changing the foreign policy of the state. Neither Russia nor China intend to change their political course; they actively oppose sanctions and have united with other sanctioned states, which Washington calls «bad actors» in the international arena due to the uncontrollability of their behavior by the United States. Washington fears the strengthening of these states and the possible formation of new leaders in their regions.

The “China factor” is a rare item in the official agenda of the interstate dialogue between the United States and India. Nevertheless, the influence of Chinese policies on the nature of US-India relations is widely recognized not only at the expert level but also on the political sidelines, particularly in the United States. The “China factor” is not the only motive for the rapprochement between Washington and New Delhi, but its role is quite stable. This article makes an attempt to trace the dynamics of the Chinese factor in American-Indian relations from the beginning of this century when the accelerated strengthening of bilateral ties has started. The author examines the interdependence between the intensity of the US-India dialogue and the nature of the relations of each of the two countries with the rapidly developing PRC. Some scenario forecasts have been formulated.

Relying on its Indo-Pacific possessions, France under E. Macron seeks to form a “third way” regional coalition project in the Asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific region, designed to counterbalance the influence of the USA and China in the region. Nevertheless, France faces serious obstacles on its way. The process of mental construction of the Asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific space in the minds of the French authorities has not yet been completed. The existence of “fragments of the empire” and a network of partnerships with regional states help France to maintain a presence in the region, but the lack of clarity in understanding the goals and objectives of the emerging coalition and the insufficiency of economic, political, and military resources to French ambitions seriously complicates France’s policy in the Indo-Pacific. The crisis events of 2021–2022 are forcing to look for new options for solving the strategic enigma.

The present article analyzes the interstate rivalry between the United States and China, as well as Russia's role in international relations in general. The study touches upon several key aspects, including the evolution of U.S.-China relations, the current crisis in bilateral relations, and the strategic interaction between Russia and China against the expansion of the United States and the collective West. The article focuses on the possibility of a direct military clash between the U.S. and China and analyzes the likelihood of Russia's involvement in such a conflict. The aim of the study was to analyze U.S.-China contradictions and the role of Russia and China in potential and actual conflicts involving Western countries. The author draws several important conclusions. First, the successful actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine undermine the plans of the U.S. and the West, leading to attempts to "freeze" the conflict and restore Ukraine's military potential. Second, tensions in the Indo-Pacific region and the strengthening of alliances directed against China reinforce the need for Russia and the PRC to come closer together. Third, mutual support and security cooperation between Russia and China are key to ensuring stability on their common border and the formation of a just world order. The author calls for increased joint efforts between Russia and China within the framework of international organizations such as the SCO, CSTO, and BRICS to ensure security and stability in Greater Eurasia.