‘Russia needs China more’: Are Putin and Xi in a marriage of convenience?
Al Jazeera
While Russia and China have drawn close in the face of Western sanctions, both have other acts to balance.
After China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin pledged a “new era” of partnership, experts are questioning the depth of the relationship between the two most powerful rivals of the United States and its economic impact.
China and Russia have a long and complex relationship.
The assumption is that the two major powers sitting next to each other, each with a giant landmass, areas with extreme weather, and a long shared international border, would be natural allies.
While this has not been the case historically, now, after decades of rivalry, the two were finally drawn together in the face of Western sanctions on Russia.
Moscow needs powerful allies to help it configure sanctions workarounds, while Beijing, too, is on the lookout for allies to create a new order that challenges the US.
