For a dramatically heterogeneous alliance between Beijing and Moscow, with its Russia Vladimir Putin to be the weak partner, and its China Xi Jinping to dominate, says Business Insider, in an article entitled: “Xi’s visit to Russia was humiliating for Putin and showed how dominant China is.”

During President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Moscow since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared eager to impress. Putin is known for the power games he plays when meeting world leaders, sometimes keeping them waiting for hours and trying to intimidate them. But in Xi’s greeting, his welcome was diffuse. A photo in which the two posed between giant Russian and Chinese flags appeared designed to underline the importance of their alliance.

Putin personally escorted Xi to his car at the end of the summit on Wednesday, a heartfelt gesture that observers say was almost unheard of. However, his efforts at hospitality failed to bear fruit, analysts say – with Russia clearly proving to be the alliance’s underdog, as Xi reaped the rewards from Russia, and for the most part did not reciprocate. “The asymmetry of the Sino-Russian relationship has been increasingly apparent for some time,” Ali Wynne, an analyst at the Eurasia Group in Washington, told Insider. “And the summit underscored that.”

China gives Putin a lifeline

Putin is seen as an outcast by much of the international community for his brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the Russian economy has been weakened by sweeping Western sanctions that have cut it off from parts of the global economy. However, China refused to join the sanctions and provided Russia with vital diplomatic, political and economic support in the conflict. He has avoided a UN vote to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, has attempted to blame the West for perpetuating the conflict, and has expanded and deepened trade ties with Russia. China continued to buy Russian oil – albeit at a deep discount – and thus contributed to the survival of the Russian economy. China is ready to sell goods to Russia, including jet components and electronics that are banned from supplying Western companies.

“China sees a stronger partnership with Russia as a pillar of its efforts to offset growing pressure from advanced industrial democracies, especially in the West,” Wynne said.

Russia is linking its economy to China

The summit featured a series of announcements of joint Sino-Russian plans. but the analysts characterized the agreements as one-sided, giving Xi’s China economic opportunities while doing little to bolster Russia. The US taunted Putin in the aftermath of the summit, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby saying Russia was now the “junior partner” in the alliance. The new projects include additional oil and gas pipelines from Russia to China (at prices that China can set) and new opportunities for Chinese companies to acquire businesses in Russia vacated by departing Western companies. The two states also agreed that China would take a key role in developing wasteland in eastern Russia. In return no comparable share in the much larger Chinese economy was offered to Russia.

“Putin tells his people that he is fighting for Russia’s sovereignty. In effect, he has mortgaged the Kremlin to Beijing.” tweeted Sam Green, director at the Center for European Policy Analysis and professor at King’s College London. The US has accused China of planning to send weapons to Russia to limit casualties on the battlefield in Ukraine. But since the summit, there has been little sign that Russia has secured such a deal, which would mark a major triumph. Instead, Xi tried to portray himself as an impartial peace broker, proposing a plan for a ceasefire in Ukraine. While Putin has been diplomatic about the plan, Kiev has rejected it.

Analysts told Insider that China is likely more concerned about boosting its global image than securing an agreement to end the war. China will likely seek to exert its new influence on Russia to expand its global power, Wein commented. He predicted that China could seek to pressure Russia to loosen its ties with India, one of China’s main regional rivals. or even accept a Chinese military presence in Central Asia, which Russia considers to belong to its sphere of influence. “It is not clear that Russia would have much power to oppose such requests,” he observed.