February 2022 may turn out to be an important month in Chinese and world history. It was the month when China’s “no limits” embrace of Russia was codified in a sweeping statement of mutual support, just as Russian troops were massing on the borders of Ukraine. Russia’s invasion not many days later revealed what the world may look like if China’s leader Xi Jinping and his “best friend,” Russian President Vladimir Putin, succeed in their mission of replacing the American-led, rules-based international system with their vision of an authoritarian new world order. Russia’s war on Ukraine suggests …
