Putin and Xi have just reaffirmed their solidarity at the Uzbekistan economic forum.. We have here a united from between a neo-Stalinist and and a dyed in the wool one. Two corrections: Xi is not departing from Deng's injunction: "hide your strength and bide your time"; he is actually fulfilling its underlying strategic ambition, which had always been to pursue hegemony. For Deng it was a matter of timing and the need for China to grow strong by tapping western capital and technological know-how. China has now reached the point where it no longer needs to hide its ambition, its strength; the time has arrived for her to unfurl it. Secondly, decoupling with China is already occurring as western businesses begin to flee and as Xi attacks domestic entrepreneurs, tilts the economy toward state enterprises and contemplates a nationalist shift toward autarky. The old Cold War has merely resurrected itself in a new form; any illusions about cooperation with China must be shed; a clean break must be made eventually; otherwise the West may be seduced again into aiding China's rise under the illusion Xi after all has good will on some mutually important issues. He doesn't. From climate change to the covid pandemic, China will remain a threat to the world order. Xi
Xi Jinping *says* that China's compact with Russia "knows no limits" - but that was before Putin's disastrous miscalculation in invading Ukraine. In practice, the compact has already been less than tight. China is not supplying weapons, and will not be happy about the Taiwan implications of successful Ukrainian resistance, bolstered by solid and sustained Western support. Russia's military reputation was, I suspect, a big part of its appeal to China, but it is now pretty dented.
This is not to say that we don't need a competing organising strategy. But I don't think we should panic about an effective and 'unlimited' Sino-Russian axis
I agree and disagree. In the long-term the Sino-Russian partnership is unsustainable unless Moscow accepts a wholly subservient role. In the short term Putin has nowhere else to go and China finds him an important ally in undermining the global system..No panic but we should pay serious attention
Excellent
Putin and Xi have just reaffirmed their solidarity at the Uzbekistan economic forum.. We have here a united from between a neo-Stalinist and and a dyed in the wool one. Two corrections: Xi is not departing from Deng's injunction: "hide your strength and bide your time"; he is actually fulfilling its underlying strategic ambition, which had always been to pursue hegemony. For Deng it was a matter of timing and the need for China to grow strong by tapping western capital and technological know-how. China has now reached the point where it no longer needs to hide its ambition, its strength; the time has arrived for her to unfurl it. Secondly, decoupling with China is already occurring as western businesses begin to flee and as Xi attacks domestic entrepreneurs, tilts the economy toward state enterprises and contemplates a nationalist shift toward autarky. The old Cold War has merely resurrected itself in a new form; any illusions about cooperation with China must be shed; a clean break must be made eventually; otherwise the West may be seduced again into aiding China's rise under the illusion Xi after all has good will on some mutually important issues. He doesn't. From climate change to the covid pandemic, China will remain a threat to the world order. Xi
is a quintessential totalitarian.
Xi Jinping *says* that China's compact with Russia "knows no limits" - but that was before Putin's disastrous miscalculation in invading Ukraine. In practice, the compact has already been less than tight. China is not supplying weapons, and will not be happy about the Taiwan implications of successful Ukrainian resistance, bolstered by solid and sustained Western support. Russia's military reputation was, I suspect, a big part of its appeal to China, but it is now pretty dented.
This is not to say that we don't need a competing organising strategy. But I don't think we should panic about an effective and 'unlimited' Sino-Russian axis
I agree and disagree. In the long-term the Sino-Russian partnership is unsustainable unless Moscow accepts a wholly subservient role. In the short term Putin has nowhere else to go and China finds him an important ally in undermining the global system..No panic but we should pay serious attention