Both past and presently, Sino-European relations have been secondary to both actors and the US has had primacy in both respective foreign policies. This has created a situation where both the Chinese and Europeans exhibit a serious lack of understanding of one another, which is the root cause of many misunderstandings. The most important and dangerous symptom of this dysfunctional relationship is suspicion, because suspicion breeds mistrust. This is a curious observation considering interaction and trade between the two actors has increased, whilst trust has decreased and has arguably never been lower. This is despite an increased need and interest to cooperate on areas ranging from social and welfare issues to the combating of piracy and peacekeeping. There have been a number of high-level Sino-European meetings but these have not evidenced the progress needed.

Throughout history, the relationship between China and Japan has more often than not been marked by mistrust and animosity, or even violent conflict. Despite three decades of normalized bilateral relations, several past and present issues serve to complicate the relation between the two states. Since a positive and functioning relationship between China and Japan, the two great powers in Northeast Asia, in many ways is a prerequisite for peace and stability in the region, a souring bilateral relationship is not only problematic for the states involved, but has implications for neighboring states and the international community at large. Against this background, it has become increasingly important to understand, identify and implement measures that can prevent and manage conflicts and disputes between these two states.

This project aims to bring together scholars specializing on Sino-Russian relations to address the current status of Sino-Russian relations in the political, military, energy and trade sectors. We aim at producing a comprehensive account on the current status of relations between Russia and China in the sectors outlined above and the geo-political realignments that have occurred in Eurasia in the last 2-3 years. This will be done by exploring overlapping interests and tensions between these two states. Apart from the purely bilateral relations, a focus will be on Central Asia as the region is a major determinant of contemporary Sino-Russian relations.