China and Russia's Partnership Restrains in Arctic

Moscow and Beijing’s cooperation in developing energy resources as well as maritime and rail transportation infrastructures in the Russian division of Arctic, is a goal for which the two countries can cooperate for their shared interests. However, the mentioned cooperation has not led to a satisfactory result except in an LNG project in Yamal Peninsula. Therefore the present article tries to answer the following question: Why Russian and China have not been able so far to achieve an advanced level of cooperation and partnership irrespective of their shared interests and goals in the Arctic?” An analysis of Russia and China’s situation and their regional and global goals indicates that governments and especially the great powers are always concerned about their share in cooperation. Using analytical – descriptive method and defensive realism theoretical framework, the paper tries to tell why the research findings provide an answer to the research question.