ANALYSIS:
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have taken another step towards creating their own "new world order", vowing to resist the influence of the United States and "assume the role of great powers".
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the multinational Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. There they told the assembled leaders of India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt of their desire to mould the nations into a new economic, military and political power bloc.
"China is willing to make efforts with Russia to assume the role of great powers and play a guiding role in injecting stability and positive energy into a world rocked by social turmoil," Xi proclaimed.
Putin repeated his accusation that the United States wanted to "create a unipolar world", adding that such moves had "recently taken an ugly shape and are absolutely unacceptable to most states on the planet".
Their words were tailored for the autocratic ears of many nations participating in the SCO discussions. Most have little love for the West or the combined voice of the United Nations.
"China and Russia have united to resist the political virus of the US and the West while opposing hegemonism," the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Global Times declared in an editorial.
And that's a clear and present danger, warn Centre for a New American Security (CNAS) analysts Andrea Kendall-Taylor and David Shullman.
"The problems the two countries pose to Washington are distinct, but the convergence of their interests and the complementarity of their capabilities — military and otherwise — make their combined challenge to US power greater than the sum of its parts," they write.
"China and Russia are linked not only by the alignment of their worldviews but also by the complementarity of their resources and capabilities."
Xi told the SCO world leaders that he hoped the forum would "exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern". "In the face of the colossal changes of our time on a global scale, unprecedented in the history of our times, we are ready with our Russian colleagues to set an example of a responsible world power and play a leading role in bringing such a rapidly changing world onto a trajectory of sustainable and positive development."
Xi's in-person meeting with Putin was the first since the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. Russia invaded Ukraine the day after the closing ceremony.
During that meeting, the two leaders proclaimed a "no limits" friendship and that there are "no forbidden areas of co-operation".
Now, Xi is hoping to return to the Communist Party Congress on October 16 with the promise of a new China-centric international power bloc.
There he expected the assembled delegates to bestow upon him titles and powers not seen since the days of Communist China's founder, Mao Zedong. He also expects he will be declared an exception to China's constitutional two-terms in office limit.
But he needs good news. China is full of negative energy at the moment. Extended and brutal Covid lockdowns have upset much of the population. Its economy is slowing. Property developers are collapsing. Electricity supplies are struggling. Drought is causing crops to die and water reservoirs to dry up.
And his publicly declared "best friend" Putin has demonstrated himself on the world stage as tyrannical and militarily incompetent.
Moscow's invasion of Ukraine is in tatters. And Southeast Asian opposition to Beijing's arbitrary territorial claims over the entire South and East China Seas and much of the Himalayas is growing.
But Putin used his meeting with Xi to pass the buck.
"We condemn the provocations of the United States and its satellites," he declared.
Putin, who is now dependent on Xi's China for income from cut-price oil and gas sales, declared his total support for Beijing's "One China" policy.
But the humbled leader also said he understood China had "questions and concerns" about Russia's bungled invasion of Ukraine. In the past week, Ukrainian forces have reclaimed more than 3000sq km of occupied territory.
"We highly appreciate the balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis. We understand your questions and concerns in this regard. During today's meeting, of course, we will explain in detail our position on this issue – although we have spoken about this before," Putin said.
He did not mention what those "questions" and "concerns" were.
But Putin declared he felt the SCO was the only international body that respects "each other's sovereignty". "Its refusal to interfere in internal affairs made it possible to turn this organisation into an effective mechanism for multilateral cooperation", he said.
"The Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of co-ordination is as stable as mountains," Putin proclaimed.
Presenting a powerful partnership is central to Putin and Xi's efforts to create an alternative to the rules-based international order established through the United Nations after World War II.
That way, other world leaders who find these international rules inconvenient know they will have strong friends to back them up.
The SCO needed to continue to grow to become "a platform for constructive interaction", Putin said. "Bilateral relations are a model for ensuring global and regional stability," he explained, adding that the "legitimate security interests" of sovereign states must be upheld.
"We jointly stand for the formation of a just, democratic, and multipolar world order based on international law and the central role of the United Nations and not on some rules someone has come up with and is trying to impose on others without even explaining what it is all about".
He did not explain how the fates of Ukraine, Tibet and Taiwan were "just", "democratic", or "based on international law". Nor did he address the "legitimate security interests" of sovereign states other than China and Russia.
This lock-step messaging of Putin and Xi demonstrates the strength of their mutual needs, the CNAS analysts argue.
"China, in particular, is using its relationship with Russia to fill gaps in its military capabilities, accelerate its technological innovation, and complement its efforts to undermine US global leadership," they write. "Fearful of irrelevance, Putin is looking for ways to force the United States to deal with Moscow and likely views a relationship with Beijing as a means to strengthen his hand."
But the link between the two countries is more than strategic. China and Russia are learning from each other regarding authoritarian tactics – be it complex mass-disinformation campaigns, AI-based mass surveillance, mass censorship or mass re-education camps.
And this skillset is also available for export to SCO members.
• Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer.
The conflict has entered its seventh day.