Danil Bochkov

Opinion | China and Russia cement their bond as Xi and Putin take a stance against US dominance

In a joint statement released after their recent summit, the two leaders outlined new energy and space deals and promised mutual support over regional disputes

In particular, they were united in their criticism of the US and its allies, revealing coordinated security interests in Europe and the Asia-Pacific

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Danil Bochkov

Published: 1:30am, 9 Feb 2022Updated: 2:58am, 9 Feb 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin recently held their first face-to-face meeting in several years. Ahead of the talks, I suggested that the pair were likely to “synchronise their watches” and embrace closer cooperation in global politics, economics and security, look to forge a deeper energy alliance, and launch a rip tide of criticism against the US.

So far, plenty of these predictions have come true in the extensive joint statement released after the summit, outlining the Russia-China partnership over the next few decades.

Most importantly, Moscow and Beijing have formally consolidated their official positions on a wide range of global affairs, which had previously only been stated orally or were scattered across multiple documents. They now present a cohesive interpretation of the new state of international relations, in which the two countries declare an open revolt against the US-led world order.

They are rebelling against the “minority [of states that] … advocate unilateral approaches to … international issues”, interfering in the domestic concerns of other states “against the opposition from the international community”.

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Xi meets with Putin ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony

By suggesting there is a minority (that is, implying the US and its allies) challenging the rest of international community, Russia and China are dividing the global landscape into two rival camps.