Six months ago, on August 8, 2024, China and Russia were actively collaborating to confront the United States and the West, with Beijing being a decisive supporter of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the time, we mentioned this on the China Perspective program:
"While the current world's polarization between the G7 (G7) democratic nations of the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia, and the axis of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran is readily apparent, the divisions between the two camps are not static and permanent; they are constantly reconfiguring and shifting. This is because most people in every country can still discern the global trend. Even the political elites of China and Russia, currently hostile to the US, will secretly compete to see who can shake hands with the US first when the turning point of history looms, driven by vital calculations of their own interests. Putin and Xi Jinping are racing to see who can first gain Trump's trust and accept the olive branch of cooperation. The rules of the game then will be: first come, first served ."
Russia's three-year invasion of Ukraine has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The situation recently took a turn for the worse when US President Donald Trump announced last week that he had spoken with both Ukraine and Russia and planned to launch a peace process. Without prior notification to Ukraine and its European allies, Trump's announcement sparked an uproar in Ukraine, within NATO, and Ukraine's European allies.
This shows that the competition between China and Russia has already yielded results. It seems that Russia has now arrived first and has become the king, and Trump has chosen Russia.
Many observers noticed Trump's Russia complex during his first term, so it shouldn't be surprising. But why has it sparked such a surge of reaction and anxiety this time? Why did he quickly reverse course when he adopted some tough rhetoric toward Russia just two weeks after taking office?
