Exothermic vs.

Endothermic Reactions
Exciting the Molecules: A Comparative Analysis of Russian and Chinese Foreign Policy

By Andrew C. Caldwell

Salt Lake Community College

Political Science 2200: Comparative Politics

Professor Perparim Gutaj

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

 Caldwell 2

Abstract

This paper briefly and succinctly examines Russia and Chinas approaches to foreign policy

within the context of the recent past, and on forward into the 21st Century. First examined is

Russia, and thereafter, China. This paper then concludes by comparing and contrasting both

nations approaches to international trade and foreign policy.

 Caldwell 3

Russias Foreign Policy

Russias approach to foreign policy is fundamentally one of encompassing aspirations toward

territorial expansion coinciding with the dissemination and propagation of the nations political

influence and ideology. It could easily be reasoned that Russias primary foreign policy objective

would be to consolidate the old former Soviet bloc countries back into a return to control of

Moscow, and ultimately back under the banner of the Russian Federation. Or in other words, the

formation of a new Eastern Eurasian-bloc super-power.1 This can currently and recently be

observed as being played out within the conflict and turmoil throughout eastern Ukraine, and

with the past annexation of the Crimea. Russias strategy is to reduce NATOs influence within

Eastern Europe by measures such as bargaining to reduce missile defense systems stationed in

various countries, such as Poland and Turkey, to the Russian state being vehemently opposed to

NATO troop build-ups within close proximity to Russian borders and territories. President

Vladimir Putin and Russian officials, such as strategist Alexander Dugin, can be heard voicing

their displeasure throughout the press, by continually calling for troop reductions and armament

withdrawals in the region.2

When it comes to hard power, Russia leads the world by commanding the worlds largest

global stockpile of nuclear weapons, controlling a stockpile even higher than that of the U.S.

reserves. Latest estimates list the number Russian nuclear weapon inventories approximating

1
Graham, Thomas, and Matthew Rojansky. "America's Russia Policy Has Failed." Foreign Policy. November 01,
2016. Accessed November 08, 2017. http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/13/americas-russia-policy-has-failed-clinton-
trump-putin-ukraine-syria-how-to-fix/.
2
Mearsheimer, John J. "Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West's Fault." Foreign Affairs. January 28, 2016. Accessed
November 08, 2017. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2014-08-18/why-ukraine-crisis-west-s-fault.
 Caldwell 4

over 7,000 warheads.3 Russia is one of the few nations that could devastate the U.S. homeland

within a timeframe of hours, if not minutes.

In areas such as ideology and soft power, Russia has been primarily concerned with

countering the spread of what the Russian intelligentsia call atlanticism,4which is another

name for that which encapsulates various concepts such as, western liberal democracy, free-

market capitalism, enlightenment thinking, individual rights, and an objective legal system.

Russia seeks to counter the ideological spread of atlantacism throughout Europe, Asia, and

South America. Russia is highly concerned and troubled by U.S. involvement within the Middle

East. The nation currently has alliances with countries such as Iran and Syria within the region.

Russia has been known to facilitate arms deals with rogue nations such as North Korea and Iran

as a check on western expansion and influence. Most recently, Russia has also countered and

opposed U.S. military operations to depose and replace the Bashar Assad regime within Syria,

after the regime used chemical weapons on rebel forces back in the summer of 2013.5 Russia is

also said to have gained a certain notoriety for engaging in the practice of political subversion

within various foreign nations.

In terms of foreign trade, Russia can be said to be extremely protectionist. With the

import and export of commodities, the Russian Federation prefers to export it its goods, such as

3
Davenport, Kelsey. "Fact Sheets & Briefs." Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance | Arms Control
Association. October 2017. Accessed November 08, 2017.
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat.
4
Cohen, Ariel. "The State of Russian Foreign Policy and U.S. Policy Toward Russia." The Heritage Foundation.
Accessed November 08, 2017. http://www.heritage.org/europe/report/the-state-russian-foreign-policy-and-us-
policy-toward-russia.
5
Reuters in Washington. "US and Russia in talks over rival military operations in Syria." The Guardian. September
18, 2015. Accessed November 08, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/19/us-russia-in-talks-rival-
military-operations-syria.
 Caldwell 5

oil, gas, and machinery,6 rather than import goods such as foreign grain and meat. As much as

Russia is concerned with NATO troop and fleet movements, it is also hyper-sensitive to the

import of foreign ideas and ideologies that may accompany any number of respective

commodities7.

Foreign policy writer and analyst, Stephen Blank summarizes past Russian policy, where

he writes in a Heritage Foundation report, Russia still pursues objectives and policies in Europe

that its power does not merit, that are unsustainable, and which ultimately endanger its own

security. Also, Russia views the U.S., as to where the bar is set, as to what it wants to emulate

as being a superpower on global scene. Blank also writes of Russia, Russia seeks equality with

the United States at the expense of all other states. This somewhat provides a view of what the

Russian Federation seeks to accomplish internationally. Some may also argue however, that

Russia is a diminishing, or waning power economically, yet also a power that has bested the U.S.

in strategy and tactics within the Middle East, in places such as Syria, as of late, and within

Eastern Europe to an extent. With the recent election of Donald Trump, there also has been

rumored the dropping of previously levied sanctions against Russia, and an alliance directed to

hedge against Chinese expansion due to the nations rapid industrialization.

Chinas Foreign Policy

The approach China, or the Chinese Communist Party, have generally taken toward foreign

policy in the modern era is one of non-intervention. Chinas main focus has more specifically

been on domestic policy. Suppressing revolts, dealing with famine, and populational discontent

6
Krauss, Clifford. "Russia Uses Its Oil Giant, Rosneft, as a Foreign Policy Tool." The New York Times. October
29, 2017. Accessed November 08, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/29/business/energy-environment/russia-
venezula-oil-rosneft.html.
7
Krishnan, Rakesh. "Russia Wants to Kick Foreign Tech Companies Out Of The Nation." The Hacker News.
February 13, 2016. Accessed November 08, 2017. https://thehackernews.com/2016/02/russia-tech-companies.html#.
 Caldwell 6

are the current problems occupying the Chinese states direct attention.8 For insight into how the

Chinese government views its nation, it still considers itself a third world country. The Chinese

government also takes a stance in proclaiming their belief that one sovereign state should not

interfere with the internal affairs of another sovereign state.9 So China could be considered

politically isolationist by international standards.

In terms of Chinas global look outward, it would be extremely rare to hear of China

overtly intervening militarily in places such as the Middle East, Africa, or Eastern Europe.

Chinas major foreign policy conflicts, or issues rather, have primarily been over border disputes,

most notably, as being along the Sino/Russian border. Other conflicts currently are territorial

issues occurring within the South and East China Seas. China has over the past few decades been

rapidly industrializing, with this rapid expansion and growth has come greater militarization by

the Chinese military. Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has stated that the Chinese aim only to

use their military powers solely for defensive purposes, as to protect Chinese territory and

sovereignty.10 There are questions as to the real intentions of the Chinese over the use of their

growing military force however as Chinese culture has historically been known for

concealment and deception.11 China is said to have a more offensive stance in the realm of

cyber-warfare and the hacking of its rival governments secrets.12 China is also currently

8
Yuwen, Deng. "How to Understand China's Foreign Policy." Foreign Policy. April 23, 2013. Accessed November
08, 2017. http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/04/23/how-to-understand-chinas-foreign-policy/.
9
. "Full text: China's Military Strategy." Full text: China's Military Strategy[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn.
Accessed November 09, 2017. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-05/26/content_20820628.htm. 9
10
Jakobson, Linda. "China's foreign policy dilemma." Lowy Institute. Accessed November 08, 2017.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/chinas-foreign-policy-dilemma.
11
Pillsbury, Michael. The hundred-Year Marathon: Chinas Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global
Superpower. New York: St. Martins Griffin, 2016.
12
Gertz, Bill. "PLA on cyberwarfare buildup." The Washington Times. February 17, 2016. Accessed November 09,
2017. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/17/inside-the-ring-china-plans-cyberwarfare-force-to-/.
 Caldwell 7

dredging islands in the South China Sea situating military bases and airstrips13. Latest estimates

place Chinese nuclear capabilities roughly at just under 300 warheads.14

The Chinese government has openly stated that it has no desire to enter into any

exclusive country-to-country military alliance with a superpower such as the United States or

Russia, nor does it have any desire to create a power-bloc of various countries outside of its

existing territorial sovereignty.15 The Chinese have traditionally had a distaste for the Russians

infatuation with territorial expansion, which they term as hegemonism.16 The Chinese have

however liberalized trade with other nations such as the U.S., so Chinas political and economic

influence has expanded greatly through its trade policies alone. The country is repressive and

authoritarian when it comes to issues such as human rights, individual freedoms, and also the

political freedoms of its own people.17China is highly sensitive to the transmission of opposing

ideas and ideologies into the communist controlled Chinese mainland. However, China has

stated that it does desire cultural exchange and trade through its Belt and Road Initiative, which

is a proposal to build a network of infrastructure that connects the Chinese mainland to

geographic localities such as the Middle East and Africa in order to facilitate trade.18 The

13
Potter, Robert, Patrick Mendis, Richard Goldberg, Behnam Ben Taleblu, and Nguyen Thanh Chau. "Dredging Up
Disaster in the South China Sea." The National Interest. Accessed November 09, 2017.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/dredging-disaster-the-south-china-sea-15612.
14 14
Davenport, Kelsey. "Fact Sheets & Briefs." Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance | Arms Control
Association. October 2017. Accessed November 08, 2017.
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat.
15
Ibid.
16
. "Full text: China's Military Strategy." Full text: China's Military Strategy[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn.
Accessed November 09, 2017. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-05/26/content_20820628.htm.
17
"China." Human Rights Watch. January 12, 2017. Accessed November 09, 2017. https://www.hrw.org/world-
report/2017/country-chapters/china-and-tibet.
18
Phillips, Tom. "The $900bn question: What is the Belt and Road initiative?" The Guardian. May 11, 2017.
Accessed November 09, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/12/the-900bn-question-what-is-the-
belt-and-road-initiative.
 Caldwell 8

question surrounding this infrastructure network is one of whether it could be easily converted

toward military use for potential military invasion of the Middle East, or Africa.

Some analysts and experts claim that Chinas rapid growth and current ways of operating

politically are not sustainable. It has been said that if China desires to stay on the path that it is

currently on, that it will have to liberalize not only in the area of trade, as it has done so far, but

also in the realm of granting its citizens individual and political freedoms as well.19 Only time

will unmask the true intentions and direction of the Chinese state, and the thereafter the

implications for Chinas domestic and foreign policies in these respective areas.

Comparative Foreign Policy Analysis of Russia and China

There is stark contrast when it comes to Russia and Chinas approaches to foreign policy. Russia

could be said to be more exothermic meaning that its energies are more-so focused and

concentrated outward. While China could be labeled as being more endothermic, with its

energies focused inward on its own domestic affairs. Russia seeks territorial expansion while

China remains concerned with happenings within its own borders.

Russia is a lot more protectionist when it comes to trade than China is. Russia prefers

Russian businesses produce its products, goods, and services, over that of foreign corporate

interests. Russia places a high emphasis on being more self-reliant when it comes to production

and manufacturing capabilities.20 China is more accepting of foreign corporate interests

19
James A. Dorn This article appeared in Investor's Business Daily on August 19,2011. "For Global Health, China
Must Liberalize." Cato Institute. August 19, 2011. Accessed November 09, 2017.
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/global-health-china-must-liberalize.
20
Koshkin, Pavel. "Is Russia Too Protective of its Economy?" Russia Direct. January 16, 2014. Accessed November
09, 2017. http://www.russia-direct.org/debates/russia-too-protective-its-economy.
 Caldwell 9

operating within its borders, and is much less nationalistic than Russia, by way of placing far less

duties and taxes upon foreign interests operating within its borders.21

One similarity between both superpowers, which in fact can really be said of any

governmental entities, is that both respective governments absolutely hate and despise outside

interference and meddling into their internal political and cultural affairs. Whenever there is

populational discontent within either of the nations, America is often named as the likely culprit

for any number of various problems experienced within Russian and Chinese territory, whether

the U.S. is, or has been, actually involved in the practice of political and cultural subversion or

not.

Russia is said to be a diminishing power, while Chinas power and influence is said to be

on the rise. While China is a closer ally of the U.S. than is Russia, it has been theorized that

China will eventually overtake the U.S.s place in terms of being the greatest superpower. Some

may be more skeptical of this claim and prediction, yet some take it seriously, as there have been

calls for the U.S. to reassert itself geopolitically, as in realigning to position and partner itself

more closely with Russia politically, as in order to counter any potential Chinese threat. In order

to do this the U.S. will likely have to concede to Russia, in allowing the nation more influence

and partnerships within the old Soviet eastern-bloc countries. This move may also have to

coincide with a reduction in NATO forces, and the disarmament, or reduction, of missile defense

systems close to Russian territories. This option may be unacceptable to many in the U.S. Russia

would also have to liberalize itself more-so on issues such as trade and human rights. Russia

would have to forego many of its protectionist practices in order for a better relationship between

21
Griffiths, James. "China's Xi positions himself as free trade and climate champion." CNN. May 15, 2017.
Accessed November 09, 2017. http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/asia/china-free-trade-protectionism-
trump/index.html.
 Caldwell 10

nations to occur, however the Putin led Kremlin would likely reject any proposals toward ending

the current trends of Russian protectionism. An American/Russian alliance against China at this

present time is most likely culturally impossible for both the U.S and Russia.

China and Russia are both somewhat ideological allies on paper, although it has been said

that both their respective governments are too far off from one another on specific policy issues,

and also overly suspicious of one another. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the two

nations to form any meaningful strategic alliance or partnership. When it comes to the U.S., as

has been stated previously, China has much better relations with the superpower, than does

Russia. Future Russian relations could go either way with the U.S., they could improve, or, they

also could deteriorate further. Both nations, Russia and China, are said to be calculating realists

in terms of their strategic actions within the realm of their foreign policy.22 23 Low emphasis is

placed on human life and said to be measured as only an insignificant utilitarian statistical cost

within the confines of their strategic goals and planning. China and Russia do not consciously act

outside of their strategic objectives. This differs greatly from their superpower counterpart in the

U.S., as the U.S.s foreign policy decisions may differ between engaging humanitarian actions of

good will, to implementing the spread of economic liberalism globally, the direction of the U.S.

is largely dependent on the differing policies and political optics of current presidential

administrations of the time. These foreign policy decisions can often work counter to U.S.

strategic objectives. The U.S. is also said to have no grand strategy in the realm of foreign

policy, where both Russia and Chinas objectives are much more structured and consistent over

22
Cerdeo, Maria Evelyn. "Realist Roots of South China Sea Dispute." Academia.edu - Share research. Accessed
November 09, 2017. https://www.academia.edu/8971727/Realist_Roots_of_South_China_Sea_Dispute.
23
Lieven, Anatol. "Putin shows his realism in Syria." Politics | Al Jazeera. October 16, 2015. Accessed November
09, 2017. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/10/putin-shows-realism-syria-151013102705917.html.
 Caldwell 11

the long term. The U.S. may appear, at times, unpredictable and volatile to both Russian and

Chinese policy analysts.

In conclusion, Russia and China have much in common. They share similar ideologies

and interconnected histories. They both share a connection geographically, this means that they

are forced to coexist with one another. Both superpowers also share horrible human rights

records. The two nations share many differences amongst one another as well. Russia is much

more active externally, again, its energies could be analogized to mimic an exothermic chemical

reaction. While China focuses primarily on its own internal affairs and development, its energies

are endothermic. Another area in which both nations differ is that of trade. China is much more

open to liberalized trade, where Russia is more isolationist, closed off, and protectionist. It

cannot be stressed enough that both governments deplore the outside spread and dissemination of

western liberal thought and ideas within their countries. There may be many predictors for how

the countries will behave going on into the future, yet both counties respective policies going

forward could be open to alteration byway of increased western influence and superior

strategizing by western powers.

 Caldwell 12

Bibliography

Cerdeo, Maria Evelyn. "Realist Roots of South China Sea Dispute." Academia.edu - Share
research. Accessed November 09, 2017.
https://www.academia.edu/8971727/Realist_Roots_of_South_China_Sea_Dispute.

Cohen, Ariel. "The State of Russian Foreign Policy and U.S. Policy Toward Russia." The
Heritage Foundation. Accessed November 08, 2017.
http://www.heritage.org/europe/report/the-state-russian-foreign-policy-and-us-policy-
toward-russia.

"China." Human Rights Watch. January 12, 2017. Accessed November 09, 2017.
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/china-and-tibet.

Davenport, Kelsey. "Fact Sheets & Briefs." Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance |
Arms Control Association. October 2017. Accessed November 08, 2017.
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat.

Dorn, James, A. This article appeared in Investor's Business Daily on August 19,2011. "For
Global Health, China Must Liberalize." Cato Institute. August 19, 2011. Accessed
November 09, 2017. https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/global-health-china-
must-liberalize.

Gertz, Bill. "PLA on cyberwarfare buildup." The Washington Times. February 17, 2016.
Accessed November 09, 2017.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/17/inside-the-ring-china-plans-
cyberwarfare-force-to-/.

Graham, Thomas, and Matthew Rojansky. "America's Russia Policy Has Failed." Foreign Policy.
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http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/13/americas-russia-policy-has-failed-clinton-trump-
putin-ukraine-syria-how-to-fix/.

Griffiths, James. "China's Xi positions himself as free trade and climate champion." CNN. May
15, 2017. Accessed November 09, 2017. http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/asia/china-
free-trade-protectionism-trump/index.html.

Jakobson, Linda. "China's foreign policy dilemma." Lowy Institute. Accessed November 08,
2017. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/chinas-foreign-policy-dilemma.

Koshkin, Pavel. "Is Russia Too Protective of its Economy?" Russia Direct. January 16, 2014.
Accessed November 09, 2017. http://www.russia-direct.org/debates/russia-too-protective-
its-economy.
 Caldwell 13

Krauss, Clifford. "Russia Uses Its Oil Giant, Rosneft, as a Foreign Policy Tool." The New York
Times. October 29, 2017. Accessed November 08, 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/29/business/energy-environment/russia-venezula-oil-
rosneft.html.

Krishnan, Rakesh. "Russia Wants to Kick Foreign Tech Companies Out Of The Nation." The
Hacker News. February 13, 2016. Accessed November 08, 2017.
https://thehackernews.com/2016/02/russia-tech-companies.html#.

Lieven, Anatol. "Putin shows his realism in Syria." Politics | Al Jazeera. October 16, 2015.
Accessed November 09, 2017. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/10/putin-
shows-realism-syria-151013102705917.html.

Mearsheimer, John J. "Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West's Fault." Foreign Affairs. January 28,
2016. Accessed November 08, 2017. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-
fsu/2014-08-18/why-ukraine-crisis-west-s-fault.

Phillips, Tom. "The $900bn question: What is the Belt and Road initiative?" The Guardian. May
11, 2017. Accessed November 09, 2017.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/12/the-900bn-question-what-is-the-belt-
and-road-initiative.

Pillsbury, Michael. The hundred-Year Marathon: Chinas Secret Strategy to Replace America as
the Global Superpower. New York: St. Martins Griffin, 2016.

Potter, Robert, Patrick Mendis, Richard Goldberg, Behnam Ben Taleblu, and Nguyen Thanh
Chau. "Dredging Up Disaster in the South China Sea." The National Interest. Accessed
November 09, 2017.

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operations-syria.

Yuwen, Deng. "How to Understand China's Foreign Policy." Foreign Policy. April 23, 2013.
Accessed November 08, 2017. http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/04/23/how-to-understand-
chinas-foreign-policy/.

. "Full text: China's Military Strategy." Full text: China's Military Strategy[1]-
Chinadaily.com.cn. Accessed November 09, 2017.
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