The Ever-Shifting 'Strategic Triangle' Between Russia, China and the U.S.

The U.S. trade war with China and Washington's prolonged standoff with Russia over matters from Iran to Venezuela to arms control are increasingly driving Moscow and Beijing toward each other. Moscow has recently indicated a desire to collaborate with China in the Arctic's Northern Sea Route as part of Beijing's Maritime Silk Road initiative, for example, while the massive Power of Siberia pipeline is completing the final phase of construction and is set to begin pumping ever-larger volumes of Russian natural gas to China by the end of this year. These developments are part of a broader trend of Russia and China strengthening political, economic and security ties. Such developments raise the question of how deep an alignment between Russia and China can go, and to what extent their relationship is forming in direct opposition to and competition with the United States. To begin to answer this question, it is...