That’s why Moscow’s reaction to the Trump-Xi meeting was predictably bellicose, with Kremlin-friendly television channels trumpeting the fact that Russia’s new nuclear-capable missiles could plunge the world into ecological disaster or wipe out millions of people in a heartbeat — a sure sign Putin was rattled.
True, the China-Russia relationship has strengthened significantly since 2022, and China has done little to rein in Putin’s aggression so far. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also reportedly told EU High Representative Kaja Kallas that his country didn’t want to see Russia defeated in Ukraine, as the U.S. would then concentrate its attention on Beijing.
But the maintenance of the Moscow-Beijing partnership rests on the assumption that both countries have more to gain in challenging and resisting the U.S. together. And that’s now in question.
It was Washington’s miscalculation to initially believe it could peel Moscow away from Beijing by offering concessions and engage China from a position of strength. But that strategy has changed, with Trump characterizing his most recent meeting with Xi as a “12 out of 10,” and enthusiastically accepting an invitation to visit China in April.
The U.S. leader’s pragmatic approach is certainly closer to Xi’s style, which opens the door for Beijing to achieve its goals regarding trade and hegemony in its own immediate neighborhood. Moreover, neither is inclined to provoke military conflict with the other. Trump, for his part, has vowed to curtail America’s “endless wars” — even if he bombed Iran and threatened several neighboring countries. And while Xi has his eye on Taiwan, he has every reason to avoid war with the U.S. because of the risks to the Chinese economy.
This is in stark contrast to Putin, who is locked into the logic of war in order to preserve power.