What Happened: China will send troops to participate in Russia's largest military exercises since 1981, dubbed Vostok 2018, Xinhua reported Aug. 21.
Why It Matters: China and Russia, two of the world's major powers, have continued to increase their strategic alignment on multiple fronts in recent years.
Background: China and Russia perceive the United States and its NATO allies to be a challenge to their rise, particularly because NATO has recently conducted similar exercises aimed at Russia.
Read More:
- For Russia and China, Cooperation Is the Name of the Game in Central Asia (March 9, 2018)
- Why Russia's Military Alliance Is Not the Next NATO (Jan. 10, 2017)
