In clashing with the U.S. over Ukraine, Putin has a lifeline from China.

"BEIJING — As the United States moves to exert maximal pressure on Russia over fears of a Ukraine invasion, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has found relief from his most powerful partner on the global stage: China.

China has expressed support for Mr. Putin’s grievances against the United States and NATO, joined Russia to try to block action on Ukraine at the United Nations Security Council, and brushed aside American warnings that an invasion would create “global security and economic risks” that could consume China, too.

On Friday, Mr. Putin will meet in Beijing with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics that President Biden and other leaders have pointedly vowed to boycott.

Although details of any potential agreements between the two countries have not been disclosed, the meeting itself — Mr. Xi’s first in person with a world leader in nearly two years — is expected to be yet another public display of geopolitical amity between the two powers.

A Chinese promise of economic and political support for Mr. Putin could undermine Mr. Biden’s strategy to ostracize the Russian leader for his military buildup on Ukraine’s borders. 

It could also punctuate a tectonic shift in the rivalry between the United States and China that could reverberate from Europe to the Pacific."

How does it look?

"Washington has watched with concern as China and Russia have aligned themselves ever more closely, especially economically. Last month, China announced that annual trade with Russia had reached nearly $147 billion, compared with $68 billion in 2015, the year after Russia reintegrated Crimea and supported separatists in eastern Ukraine."