Closed Discussion: Sino-Russian Ties in the Context of the War in Ukraine

In March, the CHOICE project, with the support of the Prague office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, hosted a closed discussion in Prague with CHOICE Visiting Fellow and Post-Doc Researcher at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (oiip) Thomas Eder on Sino-Russian ties in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Two years into the war in Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow have doubled down on bilateral relations and tightened their cooperation across a number of fields. This alliance has been characterized by a complex interplay of mutual strategic interests, underpinned by a shared vision of countering Western hegemony and promoting a multipolar world order. China has provided extensive propaganda support to Russia. It has helped Russia avoid diplomatic isolation, and served as its main economic and technological lifeline when Western sanctions hit and Russia’s ties with Europe, the US and East Asian democracies progressively broke down.

The event discussed China’s evolving views of and (potential) policy choices during the Russia-Ukraine War, its settlement, and post-war security order debates. Dr. Eder provided a short- to medium-term outlook on likely developments and implications for the EU.

The event was moderated by Filip Šebok, Research Fellow at the Association for International Affairs (AMO).