Russia and China unite against the US – Ukraine war proves.
Gabuev 23 [Alexander Gabuev is director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Contributed commentary and analysis to a wide range of publications, including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist. Worked as a visiting research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Gabuev is a Munich Young Leader of Munich Security Conference and a member of Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (Russia)., “China’s Russia Strategy,” Spring 2023, George W. Bush Institute, https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/broken-china/chinas-russia-strategy, accessed 7-28-2023, HKR-SWY]
Thanks to the war in Ukraine, Russia and China are now closer allies than at any time in the two countries’ modern history. As Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Moscow in March highlighted, Russian President Vladimir Putin has found a strong partner in his declared struggle against the West – such a strong partner, in fact, that Russia has been relegated to junior status in the relationship. Yet that is a price President Putin is willing to pay in order to secure access to the resources he needs to sustain his regime and his unprovoked aggression in Ukraine. The relationship also suits President Xi well. As he prepares China for a long-term conflict with the United States and its allies, Russia offers him assets he can’t get anywhere else: modern weapons, cheap oil and gas, support in the UN Security Council, and the ability to distract the United States by causing trouble in many corners of the world.