Danil Bochkov

Opinion | Russia and China are aligning their visions for a multipolar world, and eyeing new supporters

As Putin and Xi reiterate their shared opposition to a US-led global order, Moscow is identifying other potential partners, including India and Saudi Arabia

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Danil Bochkov

Published: 1:00am, 2 Nov 2022

As political and economic headwinds show little signs of abating, the world’s security is unlikely to stabilise in the mid-term. The Ukrainian crisis, a testimony to the ongoing erosion of the global order, could drag into winter as the prospects for peace talks have not yet crystallised.

Kyiv’s Western allies are seemingly doing little to encourage Ukraine to seek a more immediate resolution to the conflict. Сonversely, Washington is set to arm Ukraine for winter fighting with another US$275 million in weapons and equipment. It will add to the US$18.5 billion already pledged by the Biden administration.

Russia has just announced its pullback from a grain deal with Ukraine, citing an alleged Ukrainian drone attack against Russia’s ships. The suspension of the deal, which has been the only evidence of some flaccid political activity, signifies that even humanitarian issues are no longer up for discussion.

To the relief of those who have been ratcheting up a “nuclear autumn” scenario, President Vladimir Putin dismissed speculation that Russia intended to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine while speaking at a meeting of the Moscow-based think tank Valdai Discussion Club on October 27.

At the same time, Putin described the conflict as an attempt by the West to secure its global domination by playing a “dangerous, bloody, and dirty geopolitical game”.

Markedly, President Xi Jinping painted a similar picture of the international landscape in his political report to the 20th party congress, gloomily describing it as being rife with “high winds, choppy waters and even dangerous storms”.