Abstract:

Russia and China face the problem of international terrorism and ethnic separatism; various manifestations of violence cover different regions in both countries, but geographically are tied to the main centers of instability: the North Caucasus region in Russia and Xinjiang in China. Both countries have considerable experience of counterterrorism cooperation at the global and regional levels. However, bilateral cooperation is becoming one of the main conditions for an effective fight against terrorism. Analysing the features of the North Caucasus region and Xinjiang, the authors study the main prerequisites for the relevance of Russia-China interaction on countering international terrorism, distinguishing such factors as a common border between two countries, foreign trade relations, geopolitical position of the states, analogous problems in terms of countering international terrorist organizations and Islamic extremist groups, as well as experience in countering political terrorism and separatism. Thus, the development of national counterterrorism policy requires a multifactorial analysis and multi-directional state control over key factors and their dynamics, and the bilateral Russia-China counterterrorism cooperation must rely on geographical proximity and common interests, serving a stable platform for further interaction in fighting terrorism at the regional level.