US may lose title of 'world hegemon' due to Russia-China relationship

Ria Novosti quoted journalist Paul Withers' comments published in the Daily Express that: Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China has caused great damage to the United States.

"The United States is in grave danger. It could lose its position as world leader as President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping are trying together to change the balance of world power," the article said.

Last week, President Putin made a rare foreign trip since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Russian president traveled to China and met with his “close friend” President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which was held to mark the 10th anniversary of China’s landmark foreign policy initiative. The Chinese president said that annual bilateral trade between Russia and China has increased to a “historic high” of nearly $200 billion.

This is the 42nd meeting between the two leaders since 2013. The Daily Express newspaper commented that the meeting itself is unbelievable. Becoming close allies, Russia and China are increasingly strengthening their "borderless" partnership.

But most notably, the meeting between the Russian and Chinese leaders took place against the backdrop of a bloody and brutal conflict between Israel and Hamas, raising concerns about what the world’s two top leaders might do next, according to journalist Paul Withers.

"What is important is that Russia and China are continuing the long process of developing increasingly warm relations that began 30 years ago. This cooperation comes at a time of international crisis due to the Hamas-Israel conflict, and Israel's retaliatory attack on the Gaza Strip. In other words, President Putin and President Xi are working together to change the balance of power in the world. It will be interesting to see how President Putin shapes Russia's role in the future. Because with China's enormous size and strong economy, Beijing will certainly become Moscow's leading partner in this combination," said journalist Paul Withers.

Agreeing with the above view, Andrew Sanders, senior lecturer in politics and international relations at De Montfort University, said that the main "victim" of the increasingly close relationship between Russia and China is the United States. He said that President Putin's trip to China "creates serious problems for the United States" - a country that could lose its position as "world hegemon".

“With his visit to China, President Putin continues a long process of strengthening the close and friendly relationship between the two countries. This poses significant challenges for the United States and the West as a whole as they try to resolve international issues such as Ukraine and Taiwan,” said Dr. Sanders.

During his recent visit to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his view at a press conference that the US government still has much to learn. First of all, it is respecting others and seeking compromise.