The red carpet treatment for Putin in Beijing

With the attempted assassination of the Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, the Israelis stepping up their attacks on Rafah in Gaza, and Ukraine struggling to stop Russian troops from advancing further into their country, the handshake between Vladimir Putin and Xi Zinping and the four-star red-carpet treatment given to the Russian president in Beijing don't exactly help to calm the troubled waters around the planet. They look like two very satisfied leaders engaged in a joint exercise to put everyone else on edge. President Xi is definitely the superior partner in the Moscow/Beijng love-in because Putin needs him more than Xi needs Putin. Nevertheless, when they come together and we hear of their growing stragetic partnership you know it doesn't bode well for the likes of the United States and the western world. They don't like us and nothing is going to change that. What is most worrying is how much help Xi is prepared to give to Putin to prosecute and win his war in Ukraine. China insists it is not giving weapons to Russia. But it is effectively boosting Russia's arms production by providing vital plant tooling and machinery and electronic component parts for key weapon systems, such as drones. They call this dual-use systems so as not to be accused of deliberately arming a country to fight an illegal war. It's an old trick. Dual-ue means it can be used for civilian or military purposes. So the packing crate might say it contains parts for agricultural machinery but actually they are also vital for tanks or armoured vehicles or fighter jets etc. Xi doesn't want to be seen to be arming Russia because China is so dependent on trade with the West for the success of its economy. So the smile he gives to the TV cameras is a dual-use smile. "Arms? What arms?"