Chinese leader Xi Jinping (R) with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Beijing, November 4, 2025
I analyze how China is projecting a close relationship with Russia while, under pressure from US sanctions, it is reducing imports of Moscow’s oil by around 40%.
I explain how China calibrates its support of the Kremlin, including over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, while calculating its relationship with others such as the US, the European Union, and Asian countries.
China is playing a careful geopolitical game, balancing between Moscow, Washington, and Brussels to keep all its options open.