World News and Trends: A new chapter in Sino-Russian relations
Russian-Chinese relations have blown hot and cold since the end of World War II.
At one point during the Nixon administration things got so bad between the two giants that, according to some sources, one even contemplated a preemptive nuclear strike against the other. No more.
Russian president Vladimir Putin's recent visit to China "set a new course for Sino-Russian relations after 50 years of sharp twists and turns" (The Guardian). There is broad agreement on many important issues, including a united front against the United States' proposed new missile-defense shield.
In fact, a renewed military alliance is being forged as confirmed by the news that Russia is readying cruise-missile ships for delivery to China. "The SS-N-22 is the most dangerous anti-ship missile in the Russian, and now the Chinese fleet," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican (The Washington Times). He continued with the assessment that "our Navy admittedly has scant ability to defend against this 200-kiloton nuclear-capable weapon."
American officials are concerned about Russian arms deliveries as a part of China's military-modernization program. Russian technicians have been detected by American intelligence agencies assisting Chinese efforts to build land-attack cruise missiles similar to the U.S. Tomahawk.
Watch Russia and China, not only as individual nations, but together as a potentially powerful alliance. (Sources: The Guardian, The Times [London], The Washington Times.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 2000
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Melvin Rhodes
Melvin Rhodes is a member of the United Church of God congregation in Lansing, Michigan.
