Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are “political twins”, says DrRadchenko. But in their relationship they are “aligned, not allied”
PRONOUNS MATTER to Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin. He likes to demonstrate his closeness to some world leaders by calling them. Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, Silvio Berlusconi and Victor Orban are all referred to in this amicable way. But Mr Putin has always maintained formality with his “dear friend” Chairman Xi Jinping. They have met 38 times, with the most recent encounter in Beijing on February 4th. Yet for all the etiquette, Mr Putin and Mr Xi are political twins.
Any effort to enforce a hierarchy would be counterproductive. This was, after all, how the Sino-Soviet alliance forged by Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin crumbled in the 1950s: Moscow expected deference to its global strategy and Beijing proved unwilling to bow. Now Beijing does not—and cannot—expect Moscow’s deference. That means their friendship probably will endure for longer than the alliance built by Stalin and Mao.
Despite the bold assertions, the evidence suggests that Mr Xi and Mr Putin wish to reform, but not to replace, the global order. Their vision is fundamentally conservative. One of Mr Putin’s treasured talking points shows as much. He says he wants to expand the role of the United Nations Security Council, and in particular that of its five permanent members, in global policymaking.
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