CRINK (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea) is an acronym coined in 2023 by Western analysts to refer to the grouping of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea in what is perceived as a "loose alliance" of anti-Western nations. Within the proposed concept of the Second Cold War, this grouping is considered rival to NATO powers. Other analysts have expressed doubt that the grouping of countries constitutes a coherent alliance.
Term At the 2023 Halifax International Security Forum on November 17, 2023, president Peter Van Praagh introduced the acronym "CRINK" during his opening remarks:
According to Politico, a wide range of Axis-related concerns were shared by Halifax Forum participants and remained a central theme throughout the event. The term was used by the forum, with two of its plenary sessions being titled "Victory in Ukraine = Message to the CRINKs" and "Never Mind the BRICS, Here's the CRINKs".
International usage After the 2023 Forum, the term "CRINK" was picked up by international media outlets. It has been adopted internationally by news outlets in Chile, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, and Belgium. The term "CRINK" has also been mentioned in reports concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Middle Eastern crisis, and is widely used in discussions regarding the rise of anti-Western sentiment.
Related terms US president George W. Bush coined the term Axis of Evil in 2002 to refer to Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
The term Neo-Authoritarian Bloc was coined by Gerard McDermott in November 2022 and further defined in April 2023. Aside from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, he included Venezuela, Belarus and Myanmar, based on what he considered consistently high level of collaboration and exchanges since the beginning of the 2020s. McDermott has argued that the support received by Russia and Myanmarhttps://www.academia.edu/168302145/Myanmar_s_Civil_War_and_the_Authoritarian_Revival from the bloc has led to both regimes being able to endure the conflicts in Ukraine and Myanmar, respectively. McDermott has also discussed the role that the coalescence of these seven authoritarian states has had on conflicts that were previously frozen, such as Taiwan, Korea, Bosnia, and Guyana's Essequibo region.https://www.academia.edu/168393768/The_Revival_of_Frozen_Conflicts_Amid_the_Authoritarian_Coalescence Frozen conflicts
The term Axis of Upheaval was coined in April 2024 by foreign policy analysts Richard Fontaine and Andrea Kendall-Taylor, as part of the Center for a New American Security United States-based national security think tank. The term has been used by numerous Western foreign policy analysts, military officials, and international groups. Fontaine picked the phrase to emphasize the alleged shared desire to uproot Western influence and values without using language that was "too overbearing", such as Bush's Axis of Evil, or "axis of autocracy".
Among more neutral terminology, NATO policy planning head Benedetta Berti expressed that she preferred to use the phrase "strategic convergence" instead of "axis" when describing a coalition of adversary nations. On the other hand, the U.S. think tank Institute for the Study of War has described the grouping, in June 2025, as an "Adversary Entente".
Background
The roots of cooperation among the nations stretch back decades during the onset of the Cold War, based on the divide between the First World and Second World. The Soviet Union represented the lead superpower of the latter, providing assistance to and sharing communist, anti-Western philosophies with the People's Republic of China and North Korea.
While these nations have generally remained on neutral or good terms since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, their alliance intensified significantly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the West's response in the form of economic sanctions and military aid to Ukraine.
In 2021, Clifford May described Russia, China and Iran as neo-imperialist powers who "seek to restore what they consider their rightful realms, and all see the U.S. as their biggest obstacle. It's on this basis that they now have a flourishing alliance". Discussing Russian neo-imperialism in Ukraine, Orlando Figes wrote in 2022 that "we can see a new type of empire arising in Eurasia, uniting countries with historic grievances against the West". He said that "ideas of a nationalist, socially conservative, anti-Western and religious character ... underpin dictatorships in Russia, China, and Iran".
Characteristics
While CRINK is not a formal union or alliance, it is generally united by a shared opposition to what it calls U.S. hegemony and the Western-led international order. The countries have dramatically increased their economic and military cooperation while coordinating their diplomatic, information, and security efforts, operating as a loose coalition of like-minded states in resistance to economic or ideological pressure from Western nations. Collectively and individually, the CRINK members are globally known for their countries' authoritarian leadership, their opposition to the West, and involvement in military conflicts. The countries have no formal alliance, but are seemingly united by common interests akin to the motto of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Collectively, they share the goal of creating a multipolar world order that diminishes U.S. global dominance, which includes resisting "external meddling in their internal affairs, the expansion of U.S. alliances, the stationing of American nuclear weapons abroad, and the use of coercive sanctions".
Autocracy and neo-imperialism
All four states have been described as autocratic or authoritarian with extensive state propaganda campaigns, while Russia, Iran, China and North Korea have also been described as seeking to challenge the post-1945 world order. In addition, North Korea is one of the few remaining personalist dictatorships, as well as the oldest surviving dictatorship in the world, with its own cult of personality.
Economic cooperation
Economic ties among the CRINK members have strengthened considerably; following an early 2022 signing of a joint agreement between General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin establishing a "no-limits partnership", China has become Russia's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching record levels in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, trade between Russia and China exceeded US$240 billion, with Russia replacing Saudi Arabia's petroleum trade as China's largest petroleum source. Iran and Russia have agreed to conduct trade in each other's national currencies to reduce each other's dependency on the U.S. dollar in international transactions. China has also increased its purchases of Russian oil and natural gas, providing crucial economic support in the face of pressure generated by wide-sweeping Western sanctions. Many of these trade agreements, alternative networks, and transactions across shared borders appeared to be set in place specifically in order to circumvent Western sanctions and trade restrictions.
For Iran, exports from Russia increased by 27% from January to October 2022. Russia also defied United Nations Security Council sanctions by unfreezing North Korean assets worth several millions in USD.
Military cooperation
Military collaboration has also intensified between the four states, with Iran providing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as Shahed drones, to Russia for use in Ukraine. From the beginning of Russia's invasion to the end of April 2024, Russia used ~3,700 drones designed by Iran in combat, and expressed plans to collaborate with Iran on constructing a Russian drone factory. Russia reciprocated the military assistance by granting Iran new air defense, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, modern aircraft, and cyber abilities. Russia has also provided Iran and Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah with more weapons, especially following the onset of the 2023 Israel–Hezbollah conflict.
While China has publicly avoided transferring weapons to Russia, it has been exporting over US$300 million in dual-use items that can be used both by civilians and in the military if shipped components are put together or adapted for military use. Dual-use items exported to Russia from China include microchips, jamming equipment, telecommunications equipment, jet plane parts, sensors and radar, and machine tools, each of which helped to sustain its war effort and avert shortages caused by Western sanctions. From 2018 to 2022, Russia supplied 83% of China's military arms imports. China's exports to Russia contributed to half of its growing supply of computer microchips and components, reaching levels close to where they were prior to the invasion.
North Korea has supplied Russia with roughly 2.5 million ammunition rounds and ballistic missiles. In October 2024, it was revealed that North Korea started sending troops to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20241025001300315 First unit of N. Korean troops deployed to front lines in western Russia: reports The four nations have also engaged in various kinds of joint military exercises, including naval exercises between China, Iran, and Russia in the Gulf of Oman over the past three years, and Russian-proposed naval exercises between it, North Korea, and China.
Diplomatic cooperation Diplomatic coordination among the CRINK members has become increasingly apparent, with each nation offering mutual support in international forums such as the United Nations. Russia and China have made efforts to legitimize Iran by including it in organizations such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Their coordinated messaging on global issues frequently stood directly in opposition to Western and United States-led interpretations of world events, with a "shared purpose of overturning the principles, rules, and institutions that underlie the prevailing international system". In addition, Iran has conducted military drills with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), further solidifying its strategic partnerships in the region, and the establishment of free trade agreements between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union has enhanced economic ties, allowing for deeper integration within the regional framework.
Russia has defended Hezbollah and other proxies of Iran during UN Security Council debates. Likewise, China has publicly released statements and made stances during international debates blaming NATO interference in Ukraine for starting the war. In addition, during the Gaza war, Russia, Iran, and China used state media and social media to support Hamas and criticize Israel and the U.S.
Countries
Flag Country Capital Area(km2) Population(2025) Density(/km2) GDP per cap.(PPP) HDI Currency Top leader Official languages ChinaPeople's Republic of China Beijing 9,596,961 1,404,890,000 147 Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥)(CNY) General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping Standard Chinese written in simplified characters,see also: languages of China RussiaRussian Federation Moscow 17,075,400 146,028,325 8.4 Russian rouble (₽) (RUB) President of Russia Vladimir Putin Russian,see also: Languages of Russia Iran Islamic Republic of Iran Tehran 1,648,195 92,417,681 52 Iranian rial (Rl) (IRR) Supreme Leader of Iran Mojtaba Khamenei Persian North Korea Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Pyongyang 120,538 26,298,666 212 North Korean won (₩) (KPW) General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Jong un Korean
Discussion
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