“An axis, but no alliance”

Ms. Godehardt, how important is the meeting between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin?
Certainly Putin had great expectations of the meeting. In advance, Russia has promised China support on the Taiwan question. Putin wants to make it clear that both states are on a common front.

Do that? Is the Beijing-Moscow axis strengthening?
I don’t expect Russian expectations to be played back one-to-one by Xi Jinping. There is the Beijing-Moscow axis, but this is not an alliance in which the partners will automatically support each other on all political issues. It’s a pragmatic alliance.