Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin behave like the best of buddies
But suspicion between Russia and China runs deep
ON JULY 21st three Chinese warships sailed into the Baltic Sea for China’s first war games in those waters with Russia’s fleet. The two powers wanted to send a message to America and to audiences at home: we are united in opposing the West’s domination, and we are not afraid to show off our muscle in NATO’s backyard. The war games were also intended to show how close the friendship between China and Russia has become—so much has changed since the days of bitter cold-war enmity that endured between them from the 1960s to the 1980s.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Unlikely partners”
From the July 29th 2017 edition
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China mainlines “Musk’s miracle medicine”, at a fraction of the cost in America
China’s government is badgering women to have babies
It is testing an expanded pro-natalist playbook
China suffers eruptions from its simmering discontents
Amid random violence and increasing protests, fears mount for social stability
Trump, trade and feeding China’s pigs
As a trade war looms, China looks to cut its reliance on America
Helping America’s hawks get inside the head of Xi Jinping
China’s leader is a risk-taker. How far will he go in confronting America?
Snuffing out the flame of freedom in Hong Kong
Dozens of pro-democracy activists are thrown into jail for up to a decade