In contrast to Russia-US ties, economic relations are central to Sino-US ties, though economic interdependence is not the only criterion for a peaceful long-term relationship. There is more to bilateral relations than trade. For example, China and the US follow different ideologies and have different social systems, and some people even say they have a trust deficit. But still they are each other's major trade partners. Which means genuine trust is impossible without mutual understanding between countries.

For Russia and China both, social and political stability at home is most crucial, and they earnestly believe that domestic problems have to be solved domestically. This has been the driving factor in the relationship. The US being a global power has become used to solving its domestic problems at the expense of other countries, shifting the focus of its citizens to external threats to US interests, regardless of whether they are real or construed.

The US' recent policy moves should force Russia to think seriously about the its policy toward China. The US, which is known to defend its own interests in international relations, is now reluctant to talk with Russia on equal terms. So Russia and China should work more closely to coordinate their actions on the global stage to prevent international relations from returning to the era of power politics when the countries' sovereignty was violated with impunity by the US.

In today's world, Russia-China strategic partnership acts like a political union for advancement of peace and prosperity in the world. Although this union is not defined by special agreement and doesn't have a "military" prefix attached to it, the two countries do face some common political threats because of the deteriorating international order.

I am convinced that the use of military force worsens existing situations. So Russian-Chinese military exercises should not be more than an examination of their respective potentials. This is what any independent state should do to restore the international order.

The author is director of Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences.

(China Daily 09/09/2013 page9)