khrushcheva112_MikhailSvetlovGettyImages_jinpingputinshakehandsflags Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Should the Russians Hug the Chinese?

At a time when US President Donald Trump is waging a trade war against China, Chinese President Xi Jinping has found a new “best friend” in his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. But is this new friendship really in Russia’s best interest?

MOSCOW – Chinese President Xi Jinping was the toast of Russia last week. He smiled at the Moscow Zoo as Russian President Vladimir Putin admired the pandas Xi had brought (a standard Chinese gift to countries it courts). In St. Petersburg, he toured the Aurora, the warship that fired the shot marking the start of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, and took an evening boat cruise with Putin. At the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, he quoted Fyodor Dostoevsky.

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