China-Russia Ties Pose Challenge to U.S. --- Joint exercises, arms development, sharing of technology aim to limit America's might

"Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping oversaw an ambitious joint military exercise in China this summer, which along with reported collaborations in aviation, undersea and hypersonic-weapons technology point to a solidifying defense alignment, military analysts said.

U.S. officials and military specialists say it is difficult to pin down the level of collaboration between two nations that tightly control information, and whose actions are increasingly opaque to outsiders. But Western officials and defense experts are growing more convinced of the closer relationship based on recent economic alliances, military exercises and joint defense development, as well as the few public statements from government leaders.

While U.S. officials have long been skeptical of a unified threat from the two countries, some are now changing their view. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence reported that Beijing and Moscow are now more aligned than at any point in the past 60 years.

"They are distinct threats. But they are now interrelated because of the collaboration," said Michael Kofman, a Russian military expert at CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis group in Arlington, Va.

Biden administration officials say they are watching closely but caution against reading too much into actions unlikely to flower into a full military alliance.

Yet U.S. steps to contain the two countries have driven them into a marriage of convenience, giving the previously contentious rivals an incentive to marshal resources and intelligence against a common adversary, according to analysts and U.S. officials. China and Russia are eager to restrain U.S. influence as well as its military and financial potency, which they believe more likely if they work in tandem, according to analysts.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in June that the relationship between China and Russia was poised to reach a "larger scale, broader field, and deeper level." Mr. Putin said relations with China were at historic levels.

While Washington grappled with the collapse of Afghanistan, Chinese and Russian troops in August executed military drills in northwestern China.

Roughly 13,000 troops and hundreds of aircraft, drones, artillery pieces, antiaircraft batteries and armored vehicles gathered in the Ningxia province. China's minister of national defense, Wei Fenghe said the military exercises showed a "high level of development of inter-army ties." In October, the two countries launched joint naval drills off Russia's Far East coast.

Relations between China and Russia intensified under U.S. pressure, starting in 2014. That year, the U.S. and its allies initiated sanctions against Russian entities and individuals over the Kremlin's annexing of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and fomenting rebellion in Ukraine's east.

In a conference call on Thursday, President Biden warned Mr. Putin the U.S. would impose onerous sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin's military buildup on the border of Ukraine moved to an invasion. Mr. Putin said such sanctions would lead to a dangerous rupture with the U.S.

For China's part, a combination of sharpening U.S. rhetoric, tension over Chinese defense agreements in the Middle East and Africa, and a U.S.-U.K. nuclear submarine deal with Australia have formalized a great-power competition with the U.S. Beijing's claims over Taiwan and parts of the South China Sea are further tension points with the potential for a military clash involving the U.S.

"There is quite a common ground between Moscow and Beijing in terms of what we dislike in Washington's politics," Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said in October. "We dislike the deficit of mutual respect in Washington's approach. We like a devoted noninterference principle. On this ground, we [Russia and China] are close to each other."

In October, after years of Russian ambiguity regarding Taiwan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin considered the island nation a part of China.

Moscow and Beijing also see advantages of increased engagement in trade, technology and energy. Over the past six years, Messrs Putin and Xi have met more than 30 times.

For decades, leading into China's economic boom, Russia served as the country's chief arms supplier.

In 2019, Mr. Putin said Russia and China were codeveloping China's antimissile early warning system. The following year, he said Moscow was assisting Beijing's military with technology too sensitive for him to talk about. Russian state media later reported China and Russia were developing a top-secret submarine.

China's development of advanced computer chips gave Russia an avenue to military technologies cut off by Western sanctions.

For the first nine months of 2021, bilateral trade between China and Russia exceeded $100 billion, nearly equaling trade for all of 2020, according to official Russian data. It reached $123 billion in November, Mr. Putin said.

In August, the two countries completed the construction of the first rail bridge between them, spanning Siberia's Amur River. The $55 billion Power of Siberia pipeline, a 1,865-mile channel that began operation in 2019, is forecast to deliver as much as 1.3 trillion cubic feet of Russian natural gas to China by 2025.

"Improving the relationship with Moscow is fundamental leverage that China can take," said Zhu Feng, the director of the Institute of International Studies at Nanjing University. "It's in the tool kit to respond to America's containment of China."

Areas of disharmony between China and Russia tantalize U.S. officials with the possibility of driving a wedge between them, some analysts said.

Beijing maintains working relations with Ukraine, running counter to Russian interests. Russia in October terminated relations with NATO, but China, eager to continue advancing its Belt and Road initiatives across Europe, continues to work with the group." [1]

1. World News: China-Russia Ties Pose Challenge to U.S. --- Joint exercises, arms development, sharing of technology aim to limit America's might
Forrest, Brett. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 03 Jan 2022: A.18.