Ed Pulford

Both during the 1950s Sino-Soviet Friendship and again in the present era of apparent bonhomie between Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, formal ‘Friendship’ has been celebrated as the official tie between Beijing and Moscow, and thus between the states over which these leaders preside. However, like other interpersonal relationships which are metaphorically applied to states, ‘friendship’ is a bond which varies significantly between cultures, and so questions remain over whether Chinese and Russian leaders and populations understand their interstate friendship in the same way.