Reckoning with a new authoritarian bloc

Putin’s recent visit to Beijing suggests that the Sino-Russian relationship is growing stronger.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to China—his first trip abroad since being “re-elected”—highlights an ongoing shift in the global order. A new alliance has emerged on the world’s largest continent, comprising China and Russia, as well as North Korea. This new authoritarian bloc, the direct result of Russia’s war of aggression against a smaller neighbour, represents a major geopolitical development that will have far-reaching consequences.