ISW: Evidence suggests Putin has not been able to secure no-limits bilateral partnership with China

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a joint statement on deepening partnership and strategic cooperation on March 21, which stressed that Russian–Chinese relations are comprehensive, strategic, and "at the highest level in history."

The Institute for the Study of War indicated in their latest report that the commitments made by Xi and Putin were "notably lopsided."

Xi praised Putin and amplified China’s position on a political settlement of the war in Ukraine but did not go much further than offering those statements.

"Putin, by contrast, announced a number of measures that signal Russia’s continued orientation towards and dependence on China in the energy and economic sectors, which appear very one-sided compared to Xi’s relatively tempered commitments," the ISW found. "Xi additionally did not signal an intent to support Russia’s war in Ukraine beyond vague diplomatic assurances, which is likely a step down from what Putin hoped to secure in negotiations."

"Putin has likely failed to secure the exact sort of partnership that he needs and desires, and Xi will likely leave Moscow having secured assurances that are more one-sided than Putin intended them to be," the ISW said.