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Two decades of improvement in relations have given strategic significance to the relationship between China and Russia. Taken together, their power projection capabilities are worrying adjacent nations in Central Asia and the Far East, especially when compounded with US regional policies. However, there remain doubts as to the extract nature and extent of the “partnership” between the two giants. To determine whether their “partnership” should be a cause for concern, the authors assess the views each one holds of the other, the consistency of those views over time, and how they have shaped their actual policies. The authors conclude that the relationship between Russia and China is not based on an equal “partnership” where cooperation is the norm. Instead, the relationship is akin to a zero-sum game where each attempts to outmatch the other in their respective quests for power and prestige. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]