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The Russia-China Partnership - Factors and Interests
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:5.00
Study Course Accepted:19.02.2024 12:25:09
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | PZK_176 | LQF level: | Level 7 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 5.00 | ECTS: | 7.50 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Politics | Target Audience: | Political Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf rsu[pnkts]lv | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 10 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 20 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 10 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 20 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 40 | ||||||||
| Part-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 7 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 14 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 7 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 14 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 28 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Overall knowledge of the methods and theories in the field of international relations, as well as general knowledge on Russia and China. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To provide knowledge on the crucial aspects of the Russia-China partnership; to contribute to the analytical skillset of the students by providing tools for examining great power interactions in Eurasia. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Official Narratives of Russia and China | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Russia's Approach to the Belt and Road Initiative | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | What About “Non-Alignment”? The Reality of Security Cooperation | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | The Near-Arctic State of Mind: China’s Ambitions, Russia’s Response | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | China in Russia’s Neighbourhood: the Central Asia Tug o’ War | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Russia in China’s Neighbourhood: the Curious Case of Vietnam | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | There is More to Eurasia than Russia and China: the India Factor | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | North Korea: the Shared Difficult Neighbour | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | The Influence of the United States on the Sino-Russian relationship | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Current Events. [Topic for 2021: In Sickness and in Health: COVID-19 Impact] | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Narratives of Cooperation: Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Russia and the Belt and Road initiative. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 13 | China's Interests in the Russian Arctic and Beyond: China in the Arctic council and the Arctic Circle. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 14 | Russia and China as security partners: opportunities and limitations. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 15 | Chinese presence in Central Asia and Russia's reactions. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 16 | Russian ties with South East Asia – wishful thinking? Case study. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 17 | Russia's other Eurasian Partner – India. RIC, BRICS and SCO. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 18 | DPRK and the Sino-Russian cooperation – elements of Russian and Chinese policies on North Korea. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 19 | USA – the key factor in Sino-Russian rapprochement? Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 20 | Current issues of the Russia-China relationship. Literature discussion. Paper presentations. Wrap-up | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Topic Layout (Part-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Official Narratives of Russia and China | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Russia's Approach to the Belt and Road Initiative | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | What About “Non-Alignment”? The Reality of Security Cooperation | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | The Near-Arctic State of Mind: China’s Ambitions, Russia’s Response | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | China in Russia’s Neighbourhood: the Central Asia Tug o’ War | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Russia in China’s Neighbourhood: the Curious Case of Vietnam | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | There is More to Eurasia than Russia and China: the India Factor | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | North Korea: the Shared Difficult Neighbour | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | The Influence of the United States on the Sino-Russian relationship | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Current Events. [Topic for 2021: In Sickness and in Health: COVID-19 Impact] | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Narratives of Cooperation: Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Russia and the Belt and Road initiative. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 13 | China's Interests in the Russian Arctic and Beyond: China in the Arctic council and the Arctic Circle. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 14 | Russia and China as security partners: opportunities and limitations. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 15 | Chinese presence in Central Asia and Russia's reactions. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 16 | Russian ties with South East Asia – wishful thinking? Case study. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 17 | Russia's other Eurasian Partner – India. RIC, BRICS and SCO. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 18 | DPRK and the Sino-Russian cooperation – elements of Russian and Chinese policies on North Korea. Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 19 | USA – the key factor in Sino-Russian rapprochement? Literature discussion. Paper presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 20 | Current issues of the Russia-China relationship. Literature discussion. Paper presentations. Wrap-up | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | During the module students will prepare for the seminars, read literature, write a report and prepare a presentation. The aim of a seminar is to develop students' ability to argue and present their opinion in a consistent and logical manner; to promote activity; to test students’ knowledge of the topic and materials in question. The aim of the report is to develop the ability to identify the key issue of the topic; to identify and evaluate alternative arguments and views; to offer an opinion, explaining and arguing why this particular opinion is better than any other. The report should compare all possible alternatives, considering all their strengths and weaknesses. Another goal is to develop skills to independently study the situation and the problem, give it an assessment and be able to find solutions. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Attendance – 10% Activity and preparedness during seminars – 30% Presentation and paper – 40% Final essay – 20% | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Using in-depth knowledge gained in the course on the dynamics of Russian-Chinese cooperation in historical and contemporary contexts, students will illustrate the impact of various domestic and foreign policy factors on cooperation of Russia and China. Based on the analysis of the literature on the historical and current relations between two countries, the students will describe Russia's military and political power, as well as China's increasingly important economic and political power. Students will explain not only the interactions of these countries, but also the impact of the interactions on other regions, especially Central Asia. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students will choose scientific literature on the cooperation of Russia and China in historical and contemporary contexts relevant to the topic of their research work. Students will critically evaluate the ideas expressed in the scientific literature and discuss the interpretation of these ideas in the presentations of other colleagues. In developing their independent work, students will provide an overview of the development perspectives and challenges of the Russia-China partnership and conduct a critical analysis of the issue in this relationship. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Students will critically and comprehensively evaluate and argue the impact of various factors on the Russia-China partnership and, consequently, the development of two regions affected by the interaction. Students will create recommendations and new ideas for the further scenarios of Russian-Chinese cooperation in the professional, academic and business environment. These competencies will also be applicable to the analysis of other issues, in particular the interaction of two partially equivalent but at the same time different centers of power. By assessing the experiences of different countries and the chosen models, students will demonstrate an understanding of comparative policy methods in practice. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | "A new era for China-Russia relationship in 2019," ChinaDaily, source: Xinhua, December 28, 2019. Available from: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201912/28/WS5e06c51ea310cf3… | ||||||||
| 2 | Bērziņa-Čerenkova, U.A. "The People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation as Strategic Allies: Narrative analysis of public statements by Russian and Chinese officials." Riga: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, 2020. Available from: https://www.stratcomcoe.org/peoples-republic-china-and-russ… | ||||||||
| 3 | "Beginning of Russian-Chinese talks in restricted format," President of Russia, June 5, 2019. Available from: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/60670 | ||||||||
| 4 | Chatzky, Andrew, McBride, James, "China’s Massive Belt and Road Initiative," Council on Foreign Relations. Available from: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-ro… | ||||||||
| 5 | Feng, Yujun, Gabuev, Alexander, Haenle, Paul, Ma, Bin, Trenin, Dmitri, "The Belt and Road Initiative: Views from Washington, Moscow, and Beijing," Carnegie Tsinghua, 2019. Available from: https://carnegietsinghua.org/2019/04/08/belt-and-road-initi… | ||||||||
| 6 | Gorenburg, Dmitry, "An Emerging Strategic Partnership: Trends in Russia-China Military Cooperation," George C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies, 2020. Available from: https://www.marshallcenter.org/en/publications/security-ins… | ||||||||
| 7 | Guangmiao Xu, " China's Arctic Interests and Policy: History, Legal Ground and Implementation," Mirovaya ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 2016, vol. 60, No 2, pp. 52-62. Available from: https://www.imemo.ru/en/jour/meimo/index.php?page_id=685&id… | ||||||||
| 8 | Guha, Seema, " Why Russia Remains India's Trusted Ally Despite Moscow's Bonhomie With China," Outlook India, July 13, 2020. Available from: https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/world-news-why-… | ||||||||
| 9 | Huong Le Thu, Sunny Cao, "Russia’s Growing Interests in the South China Sea," Real Clear Defense, December 18, 2019. Available from: https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2019/12/18/russia… | ||||||||
| 10 | Insinna, Valerie, "US looks to increase weapons exports to Vietnam, decrease Russian influence," Defence News, February 7, 2018. Available from: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/singapore-… | ||||||||
| 11 | “Joint statement following the 20th India-Russia annual summit ”Reaching new heights of cooperation through trust and partnership“,” President of Russia, September 4, 2019. Available from: http://en.kremlin.ru/supplement/5438 | ||||||||
| 12 | Kroenig, Matthew, "The United States Should Not Align With Russia Against China," Foreign Policy, May 13, 2020. Available from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/13/united-states-should-n… | ||||||||
| 13 | Lynch, Ian, "What Are the Implications of China’s Growing Security Role in Central Asia?" The Diplomat, June 3, 2020. Available from: https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/what-are-the-implications-o… | ||||||||
| 14 | Makarov, Igor, Sokolova, Anna, "Coordination of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt: Opportunities for Russia," International Organisations Research Journal. Vol. 11. No 2 (2016). Available from: https://iorj.hse.ru/data/2016/12/08/1111884690/I.%20Makarov…, p.29. | ||||||||
| 15 | Masterson, Julia, "North Korea, China, Russia Converge Positions," Arms Control Association, January/February 2020. Available from: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-01/news/north-korea-ch… | ||||||||
| 16 | Phuc Thi Tran; Alena Vysotskaya G. Vieira; Laura C. Ferreira-Pereira, "Vietnam's strategic hedging vis-à-vis China: the roles of the European Union and Russia," Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, vol.56 no.1 Brasília 2013. Available from: https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S00… | ||||||||
| 17 | Rozman, Glibert, "The China-Russia-North Korea triangle after Kim Jong-Un's turn to diplomacy," Korea Economic Institute of America, 2019. Available from: http://keia.org/sites/default/files/publications/kei_jointu… | ||||||||
| 18 | "Russia-China Military-Technical and Military Cooperation," In: Russian–Chinese Dialogue: The 2019 Model: Report No. 46/2019, (ed. I. Ivanov) Russian International Affairs Council, p. 39-43. Available from: https://russiancouncil.ru/papers/Russia-China-Report46-En.p… | ||||||||
| 19 | "Russia Loosens Its Belt," Foreign Policy, July 16, 2020. Available from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/16/russia-china-belt-and-… | ||||||||
| 20 | Shah, Ankur, "Russia Loosens Its Belt," Foreign Policy, July 16, 2020. Available from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/16/russia-china-belt-and-… | ||||||||
| 21 | Trenin, Dmitri, "Russia and China in the Arctic: Cooperation, Competition, and Consequences," Carnegie Moscow Center, 2020. Available from: https://carnegie.ru/commentary/81407x | ||||||||
| 22 | Umarov, Temur, " China Looms Large in Central Asia," Carnegie Moscow Center, March 30, 2020. Available from: https://carnegie.ru/commentary/81402 | ||||||||
| 23 | "US lacks responsibility of a superpower in face of pandemic," Global Times, March 16, 2020. Available from: https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1182758.shtml | ||||||||
| 24 | Zheng, Yu, "A Look at the China-US-Russia Triangle", China US Focus, March 4, 2020. Available from: https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/a-look-at-the-c… | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | PIEZĪME: Kā papildus literatūra studentiem tiks piedāvātas nodaļas no kursa pasniedzējas topošās monogrāfijas "Xi’s China and Putin’s Russia: Negotiating a Multifaceted Relationship", World Scientific. | ||||||||
