comment by
Stephen Cornelius
Three days, two state banquets, one world view: after Xi Jinping’s visit to Vladimir Putin, it is clear that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is now playing a secondary role in the actual struggle to shape the 21st century. Xi and Putin have shared their geostrategic sketchbook. The knowledge gained from the pompously staged encounter is as simple as it is overwhelming: the mighty territorial states of Russia and China form a defensive alliance against the democratic world, from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific. The aim of their ideological and political demonstration of power is not only the USA, but above all the idea of order that has shaped the world of states since the Second World War. So welcome to the Sinocentric century. Welcome to the world of Xi Jinping.