Sino-Russian Relations from the Perspective of National Role Theory

This study explores the discursive patterns of mutual altercasting, role-claiming, and symbolic contestation in Russian and Chinese media in the 2010s, relying on the national role theory (NRT). The article demonstrates how the relations between Russia and China may be considered from the perspective of the complexity of role claims, mutual expectations, and altercasting efforts rather than locating them along the spectrum with good and bad at the edges. This study thus reveals how Russian expectations to enact the role of competitors vis-à-vis the West jointly are not fully reflected by Chinese media. Yet, Chinese media conforms to the Russian expectation of acceptance as a great power. China’s expectation of Russia to jointly act as a model for other nations in global governance is eventually built into Russian media discourses. The complexity of their interactions in Central Asia is approached through the lens of the roles of regional powers that both have continuously enacted, as well as their attempts to locate a role of regional leader, which has led to the emergence of symbolic contestation. Nevertheless, while acknowledging the persistence of symbolic contestation, this article concludes that acting as cooperative partners in Central Asia and beyond is a priority for both Russia and China during the period under consideration.