News Analysis China and Russia are drawing closer and rapidly. That was happening even before the West imposed sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. But now that China seems willing to take at least some of what Russia may no longer be able to sell in Europe and elsewhere, bilateral trade between the two nations should accelerate, though it is doubtful that China will make all the purchases that Russia needs. On one side, Beijing should be pleased with the situation, painful as it is for its northern neighbor. For one, the Chinese economy can use the Russian energy that once went elsewhere, at least some of it, as well as Russia’s agricultural products and other raw materials. For another, giving Russia a trade outlet thwarts the United States, at least to a degree, and Beijing always enjoys that sort of thing. Most important to Beijing, the pattern …