As world respect for the USA plummeted to a new nadir on 28 February, after President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance dressed down Ukraine's leader in a televised White House meeting, the true winners are Moscow and Beijing. The capitulation of the US to tsarist Vladimir Putin's viewpoint is astonishing in its rapidity, and it bodes ill for smaller countries around the world and hotspots like Taiwan.
Chairman Xi Jinping, as well as Putin, could not have dreamed of a more perfect outcome. As Russian state TV observed, "Now everything is being decided inside a big triangle: Russia, China and the US. Within this, the new construction of the world will come to fruition. The EU as a united political force no longer exists."
On the very day that Trump was abusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu met Xi in Beijing. Chinese state media said the two sides were bringing the bilateral relationship to an "unprecedented high level". Xi reiterated that "China and Russia are good neighbors linked by geography and, above all, a time-tested ironclad friendship".
Xi added that "the two sides should maintain close communication at all levels to fully implement the common understandings" they reached, "and carry forward the spirit of China-Russia relations for a new era, which is characterized by permanent good-neighborliness and friendship, comprehensive strategic coordination and mutually beneficial cooperation for win-win results, further deepen strategic coordination and practical cooperation, and contribute to the common development and revitalization of the two countries".
China never was or will be a neutral party dedicated to bringing the Ukraine war to a just conclusion. Instead, China is reinvigorating and deepening its commitment to and cooperation with Russia.
Nor does China need to do much to advance its or Russia's cause. After just 40 days in power, Trump has successfully smashed transatlantic cooperation and NATO's future hangs by a thread. The US is retreating from the international stage and mimicking how China and Russia behave. For Trump, deals have replaced rules, and values and principles have been cast aside. This is seen in the way Elon Musk has been allowed to upend government departments and programs like USAID. Money matters more than morals or people, while American foreign policy no longer depends on statecraft or shared principles.
In fact, Trump seems more attuned to Russia than to the USA's traditional allies. This is a stunning turnaround, and was evident as Trump and his cronies accused Ukraine of starting the war. Trump, Vance and their ilk have exchanged truth for a lie, fulsomely praising Putin and accusing Ukraine of warmongering.
Malcolm Davis, a Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), commented: "This was just absolutely shameful." He was both angered and saddened that "the current US administration seems intent on a strategy of total capitulation to its adversaries. Where does this lead? I suspect global war within the decade.
