From the Editor
The history of Russian-Chinese relations has more than 400 years. Its basis was laid by mutual trade interests that arose at the beginning of the 17th century. The two-sided ties between imperial Russia and Qing China received a special impulse in the second half of the 19th – early 20 century: this is the development of the tea trade, the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), the visit of heir to the throne Nikolay Aleksandrovich to the Chinese “tea capital” – the city of Hankou. During this period, as a result of a series of negotiations, several significant Russian-Chinese diplomatic documents were signed, reflecting the interest of both sides in ensuring security, as well as regulating trade issues. In the context of the growing expansion of Western countries in the Far East, these agreements became the basis for the formation of allied relations and cultural interaction between Russia and the Qing Empire.