In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Chinese and Russian bonds portend the United States and Europe

Both Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin denounced the initiatives. They have long seen these two major strategic peoples of Washington – the promotion of democracy abroad and the deployment or sharing of troops and military equipment – formidable threats for their people.

“It is hoped that the American side will take off its colored glasses, ignore the Cold War mentality, look at relations and cooperation between China and Russia objectively, learn about the prevailing trend of the times and do more things that are beneficial to world peace,” said Liu Bingyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. , when asked to comment on this article.

Alexander Gaboyev, head of the Russia in Asia and the Pacific Program at the Carnegie Center in Moscow, said the China-Russia joint statement was a notable public event, but the most important cooperation was happening beneath the surface. In particular, he said, arms sales from Russia to the Chinese military should be of great concern to US policy makers.

Mr. Gabuev also noted that as the two countries settled territorial disputes along their 2,700-mile-long border in 2008 Increase their military cooperationMoscow felt confident enough to move troops from its east to near Ukraine to prepare for a possible invasion—drawing Russian forces on the borders with China and Mongolia to their lowest level since 1922.

However, the two countries compete and also differ on major issues. China has a growing footprint in Central Asia, with Moscow viewing its former Soviet republics within its sphere of influence. China insists that it is now a power in the Arctic, the region that Putin wanted to control. The country has important trading relationships with countries across the former Eastern European bloc.

China is Ukraine’s largest trading partner, and Beijing has recognized the nation’s sovereignty for decades. It has never recognized Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014. It is worth noting that the joint statement did not explicitly mention Ukraine.

“When I was in government, we would take a good look at China’s calculations and find those things that didn’t line up with what Putin was trying to do and work on that,” said Daniel Russell, a former assistant secretary of state. for East Asia and the Pacific Affairs. “The truth is it’s very late in the game, the three sides have moved so far in this asymmetrical triangle, and it’s not really going to be easy to try and undo that.”

Eric Schmidt Contribute to the preparation of reports.