Circumstances often dictate friendships and that makes a closer relationship between China and Russia a near inevitability.
China has an unsatiable appetite for natural resources and Russia has an abundance of nearly everything. They also share an enormous border and enmity towards the west.
Today senior Chinese diplomate Wang Yi said any attempt to block China and Russia moving forward will not success and that China was willing to deepen its relationship with Russia in all respects.
One interesting bit that has lingered with me was when Xi was setting out priorities for Chinese knowledge and economic development earlier this year, it included things you'd expect like artificial intelligence and microchips but the very short list also included oil & gas extraction. A growing issue for Russia in the years ahead will be maintaining energy supplies as western companies and technology leave the country but China may be looking to fill the gap. China could also export that technology to Africa, where it's made enormous investments.
