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Author : V. Vorobyov
Senior Research Associate, Center for East Asian and SCO Studies, Moscow State Institute (University)
of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Ex-
traordinary and Plenipotentiary
IT HAS BEEN GENERALLY ACCEPTED that in
1976 a decade-long turmoil, called the "Cultural Rev-
olution," ended in China. Early September 1976
marked the death of Mao Zedong, an inspirer and
the main stage director of this mass "performance,"
which deeply traumatized the entire Chinese society.
In a month's time from his death, the "Gang of
Four," which comprised the most strenuous support-
ers of the ultra-leftist ideology and practices, was ar-
rested. The country started recovering and
considering paths to follow in the future and ways of favorably positioning itself on the world
arena.
At that time, Soviet-Chinese relations were almost completely frozen, and even their "defrosting"
seemed to many people a rather speculatory, if not a completely phantom idea.
In April 1996, Boris Yeltsin, who was going to the PRC on an official visit, decided that the time
had come to emphasize the special nature of Russian-Chinese relations in terms of their level
and quality.
A monograph by a diplomat and sinologist GV. Kireyev "Russia-China: Unknown Episodes of
Border Talks" provides an insight into the processes which accompanied the overcoming of
alienation, bias, and skepticism, and the formation of a framework for a new type of Russian-
Chinese relations, and of their main reference points.
Kireyev played an active and prominent role in their normalization and the laying down of a
groundwork for strategic partnership, by carrying out government missions designed to resolve
a number of sensitive issues.
The author presents his outline of events along with an analytical investigation of their inside
mechanics, which is particularly valuable and appealing. He concentrates on some focal points
in the formation and formulation of negotiation positions. Kireyev unveils the specifics of lin-
guistic work involved in finding the appropriate wording aimed to convince the other party and
ultimately achieve the results acceptable to all, regardless of how much time and effort was spent
in the process. Some of the author's judgments, including those relating to border issues, prompt
a complete reconsideration of some continuously reproduced clichés.
It is noteworthy that during their negotiations the USSR and the PRC thoroughly discussed their
Central Asian border from Mongolia to Afghanistan. When the border was actually formed at
the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Chinese imperial court would on some occasions
Russian-Chinese Confidence-Based Strategic Partnership