Anxiety over China’s conventional military superiority probably motivated, at least partly, Russia’s 2009 announcement of a new military doctrine explicitly reserving the right to first use of nuclear weapons – a stance that resembles America’s Cold War force posture, aimed at deterring superior conventional Soviet forces in Europe. These imbalances suggest that Russia would resist a tight military alliance with China, even as the two countries pursue mutually beneficial tactical diplomatic coordination.
此外，俄罗斯经济和军事实力已经衰落，而中国有所扩张。对中国超群的常规军事实力的担忧至少在一定程度上促使俄罗斯在2009年宣布了新的军事思想，明确保留了首先使用核武器的权利，类似于美国在冷战时期的实力姿态——旨在威慑苏联在欧洲的超强常规军力。这些失衡表明俄罗斯不会与中国结成紧密军事联盟，即使两国追求双赢的战术性外交合作。