IB History Changing Relations with the Ussr/russia Key Definitions

A regional political, economic, and security organisation founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, building on the earlier "Shanghai Five" grouping. The SCO focuses on counter-terrorism, border security, and regional stability, and has expanded to include India and Pakistan (2017). It represents China and Russia's primary shared institutional framework for Central Asian security and is often described as an alternative to Western-led international organisations.

A 20-year friendship treaty signed by Jiang Zemin and Vladimir Putin in July 2001, establishing a "strategic partnership" between China and Russia. The treaty expressed shared commitment to a multipolar world order and opposition to US unipolarity, but stopped short of a military alliance. It formalised the post-Cold War rapprochement between two states that had been adversaries during the Sino-Soviet split, and provided a framework for growing military-technical cooperation and energy trade.

The breakdown of relations between China and the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s, caused by ideological disagreements, border disputes, and competition for leadership of the communist world.