<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Few recent meetings had been as highly anticipated as the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Russian and Chinese leaders met on Thursday as Putin’s relations with the West continued to unravel over his war on Ukraine and as China’s military harassment of Taiwan seemed set to put Xi on a collision course with Taipei’s United States and European allies – sanctions being hinted as the first point of impact.</div><div><br></div><div>The pair had last met in February, promising that the Russia-China relationship would be “without limits”.</div><div><br></div><div>On Thursday, Xi called Putin his “old friend”, but the mutually endorsing speeches of the two authoritarian heavyweights were muted.</div><div><br></div><div>Putin sat at some distance from Xi, on the opposite sides of two long rounded tables where they were flanked by their delegations.</div><div><br></div><div>The Russian leader began by blasting those who had attempted to “create a unipolar world”, and expressed appreciation to Xi for “the balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis”.</div><div><br></div><div>“We understand your questions and concern about this,” Putin added, without explanation, before moving on to condemn Western “provocation” in the Taiwan Strait.</div><div><br></div><div>Xi’s surprising response focused on bringing stability and positivity to a world in disarray.</div><div><br></div><div>“China is willing to work with Russia to play a leading role in demonstrating the responsibility of major powers, and to instil stability and positive energy into a world in turmoil,” Xi told Putin.</div><div><br></div><div>Putin’s encounter with Xi in Samarkand appeared to underscore what analysts said was an increasingly unequal relationship between the two leaders.</div><div><br></div><div>Putin’s predicaments – a military quagmire in Ukraine, waves of sanctions on the Russian economy, and growing international isolation – meant that he now came “hat in hand” to meet with China.</div><div><br></div><div>And while Putin has emphasised the importance of Asia as an alternative to what he describes as an ailing Western-led political and economic order, the Russian leader’s own place in an Asia-led future is more of a vassal than a visionary leader, the analysts have said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has forced Russia to turn to its fellow Eurasian giant, hat in hand,” Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine.</div><div><br></div><div>China has thrown Russia an economic lifeline since the invasion of Ukraine led to sanctions imposed on the Russian economy. But, the disruption has been to the benefit of China too, which has positioned itself as an alternative market for Russian goods, and as a major customer for cheap Russian fuel.</div><div><br></div><div>“China and Russia often appear as a pair, two great authoritarian powers seeking to revise the international order. But theirs is not a relationship of equals,” Gabuev said, explaining that Beijing’s dominance in its relationship with Moscow is only likely to grow as the war in Ukraine persists.</div><div><br></div><div>Xi and Putin both share a “nostalgic and resentful desire” to see their countries’ grandeur restored, and blame the West for stifling their rise. But Beijing also knows that too much support for Russia could expose it to sanctions.</div><div><br></div><div>Yet, too little support for Putin could endanger ties with the leader of a country with whom China shares a more than 4,000-kilometre-long border, and whose economic and trade needs are compatible – cheap Russian fuel and raw materials in exchange for Chinese liquidity, Gabuev said.</div><div><br></div><div>Faced with those options, Beijing has sat firmly on the fence when it comes to increasing support for Moscow, while Russia has become increasingly reliant on Beijing for its economic survival. Source: Al Jazeera&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>