The limits of Xi-Putin’s “No-Limits” partnership

Last February, the dictators of Russia and China met in Beijing to unveil a portentous “No-Limits” partnership. It set the stage for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and likely Xi Jinping’s impending assault on Taiwan.

Both men are today in serious difficulty. Putin’s vaunted military utterly failed to accomplish its mission of quickly seizing Ukraine’s capital and vast countryside. And Xi has been compelled by large numbers of protesters across China to jettison his signature “Zero-Covid” policy, his impotence being further underscored by hundreds of millions there suddenly contracting the disease.

Hold the champagne as two ominous prospects are emerging: We may soon see vacuums of power in Moscow and/or Beijing quite possibly being filled by new monsters. Alternatively, Putin and/or Xi may resort to waging war on fabricated foreign boogeymen, including us, to revive their now seemingly tenuous claims to power.

This is Frank Gaffney.