Friends vs interests

 No nation has friends, only interests.

~Charles de Gaulle

There have been a lot of chatter about where China stands on the Russia-Ukraine war and the Russian sanctions. Pace Willard "Mitt" Romney, China is a bigger threat to the US than Russia; the last thing we want to do is push Russia and China closer together.

Here's a think piece about the current state of play. The nut graf:

"While China’s economy is far more robust than Russia’s, the Xi government is still not able to risk the same global ostracism as Moscow. China’s ambitious economic expansion plans are based on a globalised economy. It is in Chinese interests now to protect that economy from a volatile period exacerbated by the pandemic, supply chain questions and a conflict which is already rattling numerous markets around the world."

https://www.juancole.com/2022/03/ukraine-bailing-russia.html