The Russian president’s trip to China this week reflected the countries’ shared opposition to a US-led world order, but Vladimir Putin left without an agreement on a long-stalled gas pipeline he urgently sought.
The lack of a deal shows that “there are limits to the love” between the two partners, the BBC’s Russia editor wrote, even as Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Putin with nearly identical ceremonies to those that greeted US President Donald Trump last week.
Putin’s visit underscored a “growing imbalance” between China and Russia, while the back-to-back visits from Trump and Putin showed Xi is “now the power player to be reckoned with and courted,” The Washington Post wrote. Xi is reportedly heading to North Korea next week.