By William Yale
On Monday, June 24th 2024, YCAPS was pleased to host a seminar in Sasebo as part of YCAPS' Community Conversations Series, featuring Dr. Joseph Torigian and entitled "The Putin-Xi Partnership: Historical Context and Implications for the International Community." The seminar was attended by approximately 20 members of the local community, both Americans and Japanese.
Dr. Torigian, a Professor at the School of International Service at American University, a Research Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and an expert on both modern Chinese and Russian political history, discussed the current Sino-Russian relationship through the lens of China and the Soviet Union's historical relationship in the mid-20th century, first as Communist allies and then as bitter rivals. Drawing on primary source archival research for his upcoming biography of Xi Jinping's father Xi Zhongxun, Dr. Torigian argued that in contrast to Sino-Soviet relations, Sino-Russian relations were more resilient, due to the shared ideological outlook, a close working relationship between Putin and Xi, and a shared confrontational relationship with the West.
For more information, see Dr. Torigian's recent article in Foreign Affairs, "Xi Jinping's Russian Lessons," and his previous book, Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion: Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao, published by Yale University Press.
