Has China changed its view on Russia as its junior Axis of Steal partner? Xi Jinping and his defense minister seemed to play good cop/bad cop with Putin.
This article's title sees the China-Russia partnership as an "anchor of stability". But the text of what China's Defence Minister Dong Jun conveys something very different:
China says the Russia-friendly states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) must be an "anchor of stability" in times of international unrest.
That sounds more like a condition of the partnership that Russia and other members of the SCO must fulfill rather than a description of the relationships. Shut up and obey.
And Putin in that BRICS summit meeting photo above sure looks like he knows his flailing war in Ukraine had called into question Russia's promotion of stability. Xi may have green lit the short and glorious war of conquest Putin promised, but that was almost 40 months ago.
I've long called Russia and China frenemies with benefits. And Xi's comment fully supports my suspicion that China won't let Russia be an anchor that drags it down.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. You know you want to.
NOTE: Photo from the article.
