China–Russia Partnership: Tension Likely

Last month, when Xi Jinping visited Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin and reaffirm their “friendship with no limits,” it appeared as though the United States’ greatest fears were materializing. To many in Washington, the burgeoning Chinese-Russian partnership is a geostrategic nightmare becoming reality: our biggest adversaries working in tandem to end American primacy.

This dreaded axis of revisionism is why we’ve long sought to triangulate and work with one against the other, as Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, did when they exploited the Sino–Soviet split to America’s advantage. In the estimation of some foreign-policy analysts, our abandonment of this strategy, together with NATO’s expansion into Russia’s traditional sphere of influence, pushed Russia into China’s arms. These so-called realists argue that, in the face of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, we must correct course to avert catastrophe. They argue that if we don’t urge the Ukrainians to sue for peace, we risk pushing Moscow even closer to Beijing, solidifying what Daniel Drezner calls a “Legion of Doom” committed to overtaking us on the world stage and threatening the homeland.

About the Author

Bobby Miller

Bobby Miller is an ISI Fellow at National Review and a graduate student at Georgetown University.

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Last month, when Xi Jinping visited Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin and reaffirm their “friendship with no limits,” it appeared as though the United States’ greatest fears were materializing. To many in Washington, the burgeoning Chinese-Russian partnership is a geostrategic nightmare becoming reality: our biggest adversaries working in tandem to end American primacy.

This dreaded axis of revisionism is why we’ve long sought to triangulate and work with one against the other, as Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, did when they exploited the Sino–Soviet split to America’s advantage. In the estimation of some foreign-policy analysts, our abandonment of this strategy, together with NATO’s expansion into Russia’s traditional sphere of influence, pushed Russia into China’s arms. These so-called realists argue that, in the face of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, we must correct course to avert catastrophe. They argue that if we don’t urge the Ukrainians to sue for peace, we risk pushing Moscow even closer to Beijing, solidifying what Daniel Drezner calls a “Legion of Doom” committed to overtaking us on the world stage and threatening the homeland.