00:00We've seen a lot of world leaders going to Beijing. The latest one is, of course, Vladimir Putin.
00:06How significant is this trip and especially the timing of it?
00:10It's very significant for a variety of very interesting reasons. So one, it signals this
00:17durability of the Russian-China partnership, particularly that the relationship is deepening
00:23and not weakening. And interestingly for me, I think it really reinforces the view that China
00:29is no longer this isolated country that it once was. And also that Russia has not been fully cut
00:36off from the world, despite the myriad sanctions against it. Secondly, it shows China positioning
00:43itself as a central power broker between major rivals such as Russia and the US. And it's
00:49demonstrating that it can engage both Washington and Moscow from a position of strength and within
00:55mere days of each other. Now, thirdly, it highlights just how much the global order is shifting away
01:01from US dominance and influence because Russia and China have these shared interests, which include
01:07resisting Western sanctions, reducing dependence on the US dollar, expanding BRICS and opposing
01:15NATO expansion. So they are closer now strategically than they have been at almost any point, you know,
01:21the Cold War ended. But I think both leaders, as they're meeting now, are going to be very aware
01:28that the power balance lies with China, because economically, Russia now depends very heavily
01:34on China, as we heard. Since the Ukraine war, China has become Russia's most important economic
01:41partner. And obviously, Russia itself relies on Chinese technology and consumer goods. Now, we've seen Putin
01:48describe the relationship as a stabilising force in world politics. But he is in that country knowing
01:54that he's very much the junior partner in this relationship.
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