"Xi Jinping's Visit to Moscow: A Critical Moment for China-Russia Relations"

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Moscow on Monday, becoming the first world leader to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Russia will present Xi's trip as evidence that it has a powerful friend prepared to stand with it against a hostile West. China faces a choice between doing nothing and risking Russia's humiliation in Ukraine or coming to Russia's aid and risking a much bigger deterioration in its relationship with the United States and other Western countries.