What Is The Likely Benefit Of The Putin-Xi Partnership?

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Xi Jinping, his Chinese opposite number and host, agreed yesterday to deepen their strategic partnership” while accusing the United States of trying to violate the strategic balance” in world affairs.

- JOHN RENTOUL

They issued a 7,000-word joint statement full of coded references to Russian and Chinese leadership of the world against attempts by the US to assert its hegemony over regions of the world that it ought to stay out of.

The document talks about “the deepening of the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation entering a new era”, and says that Russia and China “are determined to defend their legitimate rights and interests, resist any attempts to hinder the normal development of bilateral ties, interfere in the internal affairs of the two states, and limit the economic, technological or foreign policy potential of Russia and China”.

What are their grievances against the US?

Putin resents US support for Ukraine, and sees an equivalence between his claim on part of historic Russia and the Chinese claim to Taiwan. Xi is cautious about backing Putin too explicitly over Ukraine, but the joint statement says: “The Russian side positively assesses China’s objective and unbiased position on the Ukrainian issue.”