China & Russia's "No Limits" Partnership

We’ve seen enough to believe that the Xi Jinping - Vladimir Putin bromance has staying power. Heads of state (even neighboring ones like Russia and China) simply don’t officially visit with one another with the frequency these two have since Xi rose to power in 2012. Further, strongmen tend to eschew friends, much preferring toadies, supplicants and sycophants. The relationship must be real.

The dictators — recently seen side by side at China’s 80th Victory Day parade celebrating Allied victory in WW2 — have bonded over a shared affinity for absolute personal power, as well as a burning hatred of how the United States has managed the world since the end of the Cold War.

To that end, they declared a “No Limits” partnership in early 2022, just a few weeks before Russia turned global security (and Chinese foreign policy) inside-out by invading Ukraine. It’s not clear that Putin warned Xi beforehand, but that’s all water under the bridge: China is underwriting Russia’s war and keeping its economy afloat, hoping to keep the West pinned down there to gain a freer hand in Asia.

The relationship, which appears to be going swimmingly, is more troubled than it seems, however. These two countries have been at odds far longer than they’ve cooperated. Without a mutual enemy in the form of the U.S., those old cracks could resurface in a hurry…