Putin and Xi Jinping stress their shared perception of threat the US poses to their interests

Xi Jinping greeted Vladimir Putin with full military honours in Tiananmen Square and parted from him with a hug at Zhongnanhai, the Communist Party leadership compound in Beijing. Two years ago Xi described the friendship between China and Russia as one without limits but Putin's visit this week highlighted how important it is for both of them. Russia has become more dependent on China since Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the American and European economic sanctions that followed it. And although Beijing is officially neutral on the war and has not supplied military aid, it has offered…