Analysing Russia's evolving foreign policy with regard to China, Jeanne Wilson considers the various infuences and constraints on this policy, looking particularly at economic policy, integration into global economic structures and military relations.

Russia's foreign policy experience during the first post-Soviet decade was marked by disappointments as well as surprising turns. Expectations that Russia would join the Western powers as an equal partner were frustrated, while relations with the People's Republic of China warmed considerably. Today, Russia's relationship with China is an important component of its overall foreign policy orientation, as the two states -- one greatly diminished, the other clearly on the rise -- have found themselves sharing an interest in curbing the power of the United States. In analyzing Russia's foreign policy vis-a-vis China, the author takes into account the legacy of Soviet-era precedents; the simultaneous processes of economic policy change and integration into global economic structures; and military relations. This carefully crafted study thus addresses several constituencies -- area specialists, policy analysts, policy makers, and students of international relations.