Hearing on an Emerging China-Russia Axis? Implications for the United States in an Era of Strategic Competition
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HEARING ON AN EMERGING CHINA-RUSSIA AXIS? IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES IN AN ERA OF STRATEGIC COMPETITION HEARING BEFORE THE U.S.-CHINA ECONOMIC AND SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2019 Printed for use of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission Available via the World Wide Web: www.uscc.gov UNITED STATES-CHINA ECONOMIC AND SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION WASHINGTON: 2019 U.S.-CHINA ECONOMIC AND SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION CAROLYN BARTHOLOMEW, CHAIRMAN ROBIN CLEVELAND, VICE CHAIRMAN Commissioners: HON. CARTE P. GOODWIN MICHAEL A. MCDEVITT ROY D. KAMPHAUSEN HON. JAMES M. TALENT THEA MEI LEE MICHAEL R. WESSEL KENNETH LEWIS The Commission was created on October 30, 2000 by the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for 2001 § 1238, Public Law No. 106-398, 114 STAT. 1654A-334 (2000) (codified at 22 U.S.C. § 7002 (2001), as amended by the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for 2002 § 645 (regarding employment status of staff) & § 648 (regarding changing annual report due date from March to June), Public Law No. 107-67, 115 STAT. 514 (Nov. 12, 2001); as amended by Division P of the “Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003,” Pub L. No. 108-7 (Feb. 20, 2003) (regarding Commission name change, terms of Commissioners, and responsibilities of the Commission); as amended by Public Law No. 109- 108 (H.R. 2862) (Nov. 22, 2005) (regarding responsibilities of Commission and applicability of FACA); as amended by Division J of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008,” Public Law Nol. 110-161 (December 26, 2007) (regarding responsibilities of the Commission, and changing the Annual Report due date from June to December); as amended by the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, P.L. 113-291 (December 19, 2014) (regarding responsibilities of the Commission). The Commission’s full charter is available at www.uscc.gov. ii April 11, 2019 The Honorable Chuck Grassley President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 Dear Senator Grassley and Speaker Pelosi: We are writing to notify you of the Commission’s March 21, 2019 public hearing on “An Emerging China- Russia Axis? Implications for the United States in an Era of Strategic Competition.” The Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for 2001 § 1238, Pub. L. No. 106-398 (as amended by the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 § 1259b, Pub. L. No. 113-291) provides the basis for this hearing. At the hearing, the Commissioners received testimony from the following witnesses: Robert Sutter, Ph.D., Professor of Practice of International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University; Richard Weitz, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Director of Center for Political-Military Analysis, Hudson Institute; Richard Weitz, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Director of Center for Political-Military Analysis, Hudson Institute; Jeanne Wilson, Ph.D., Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of Russian Studies, Chair of Political Science Department, Wheaton College; Stephen Blank, Ph.D., Senior Fellow for Russia, American Foreign Policy Council; Pranay Vaddi, J.D., Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Marlene Laruelle, Ph.D., Director of Central Asia Program and Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University; Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Director of Transatlantic Security Program, Center for a New American Security; and Rebecca Pincus, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Strategic and Operational Research Department, U.S. Naval War College. The following submitted statements for the record: Robert Sutter, Ph.D., Professor of Practice of International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University; and Samuel Charap, Senior Political Scientist, the RAND Corporation. This hearing explored the China-Russia relationship and its implications for U.S. national security interests. The first panel examined areas of strategic, military, and economic cooperation between China and Russia, and the second panel assessed the potential limits and barriers to cooperation in these areas. The third panel examined current and future China-Russia interaction in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Arctic. The full transcript of the hearing, prepared statements, and supporting documents are posted to the Commission’s website, www.uscc.gov. Members and the staff of the Commission are available to provide more detailed briefings. We hope these materials will be helpful to the Congress as it continues its assessment of U.S.-China relations and their impact on U.S. security. The Commission will examine in greater depth these issues and the others in our statutory mandate this year. Our 2019 Annual Report will be submitted to Congress in November 2019. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to have your staff contact one of us or our Congressional Liaison, Leslie Tisdale Reagan, at 202-624-1496 or [email protected]. Sincerely yours, Carolyn Bartholomew Robin Cleveland Chairman Vice Chairman cc: Members of Congress and Congressional Staff iii CONTENTS THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2019 AN EMERGING CHINA-RUSSIA AXIS? IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES IN AN ERA OF STRATEGIC COMPETITION Opening Statement of Commissioner Roy Kamphausen (Hearing Co-Chair) .........................................................................................................6 Prepared Statement ...........................................................................................................8 Opening Statement of Chairman Carolyn Bartholomew (Hearing Co-Chair) .......................................................................................................10 Prepared Statement .........................................................................................................12 Panel I: Ties that Bind: Current Areas of Sino-Russian Cooperation Panel I Introduction by Chairman Bartholomew (Hearing Co-Chair) .......................................................................................................14 Statement of Robert Sutter, Ph.D. Professor of Practice of International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University .....................................................................................15 Prepared Statement .........................................................................................................17 Statement of Richard Weitz, Ph.D. Senior Fellow, Director of Center for Political-Military Analysis, Hudson Institute ...31 Prepared Statement .........................................................................................................33 Statement of Erica Downs, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist, CNA; Non-Resident Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University ..........................................................................................42 Prepared Statement .........................................................................................................44 Panel I: Question and Answer............................................................................................56 Panel II: Friction and Barriers: Limits to Sino-Russian Cooperation Panel II Introduction by Commissioner Kamphausen (Hearing Co-Chair) .......................................................................................................71 Statement of Jeanne Wilson, Ph.D. Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of Russian Studies, Chair of Political Science Department, Wheaton College .......................................................................................72 Prepared Statement .........................................................................................................74 Statement of Stephen Blank, Ph.D. Senior Fellow for Russia, American Foreign Policy Council ........................................90 Prepared Statement .........................................................................................................92 Statement of Pranay Vaddi, J.D. Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace .......137 Prepared Statement .......................................................................................................140 Panel II: Question and Answer ........................................................................................151 iv Panel III: Challenging Futures: Risks and Opportunities in Central Asia and Afghanistan, the Middle East, and the Arctic Panel III Introduction by Chairman Bartholomew (Hearing Co-Chair) .....................................................................................................166 Statement of Marlene Laruelle, Ph.D. Director of Central Asia Program and Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University ......................................................................167 Prepared Statement .......................................................................................................169 Statement of Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Ph.D. Senior Fellow, Director of Transatlantic Security Program, Center for a New American Security .........................................................................................................................173