Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow last week and declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the equivalent of his BFF (Best Friend Forever). The appellate was once reserved for U.S. President Donald Trump, whose number has clearly been expunged from Xi’s fast-dial list. Xi’s visit to Moscow came on the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Beijing following the communist takeover of China in 1949. The simple geopolitical fact is that China and Russia have been rivals since the mid-17th century, if not longer. — David J. Bercuson is a fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and director of the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.

Source: National Post June 13, 2019 17:48 UTC