China as a Partner, Not a Threat

China's growing economic and military might is changing the balance of power between Moscow and Beijing. This has caused anxiety among various groups of people in Russia -- especially those living in geographic proximity to the Celestial Empire -- and some have been raising the alarm of a Chinese threat.

But is that threat real? If the main concern is only that China is a very large, rapidly developing country, then Beijing should also be in constant fear of Russia -- another huge and powerful country. Similarly, European countries would have cause to fear their largest neighbors, France and Germany, and by the same logic those two should fear each other. However, Europeans have learned to live in harmony without mutual fears or animosities. Can Russia hope to have a similar relationship with China and not view its eastern neighbor as a threat?