News Analysis The relationship between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin is largely predicated on a common interest in countering the United States, but this does not actually make China and Russia allies. In the long term, it is unlikely that Russia desires to become a junior power in a global axis, dominated by China. Chinese state-run media Global Times ran an article headlined, “China does not have allies, but has friends with partnership diplomacy.” China’s only official ally is North Korea. There are other countries that support the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when it suits their interests—such as Iran, Cambodia, Pakistan, and most notably Russia—but their goals and desires are very different, preventing China and Russia from becoming a unified block in the sense of the Soviet Block during the Cold War. In early October, a naval group of 10 warships from China and Russia sailed through the Tsugaru Strait, which lies …