News Analysis Several days ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced successful ongoing preparations for a Russia-China summit between respective leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Scheduled to take place in Beijing on Feb. 4, the meeting will occur on the opening day of the Winter Olympic Games. It is meant to further cement the rapidly expanding bilateral relationship between the two countries. According to Lavrov, the meeting is representative of the “intensive bilateral agenda and unique architecture of bilateral relations that Russia practically doesn’t have with anyone else [besides China].” Relations between the two have been strengthening in the realm of security policy and economic interactions, especially as their respective relations with Western countries continue to deteriorate. “Last year a record growth of the trade turnover was achieved, a very substantial one at that,” stated the Russia foreign minister. Recent events further illustrate this rapidly burgeoning Beijing-Moscow axis, especially …