Beijing's leverage eclipses Moscow as gas deals and yuan financing reshape Russia
Four years of war and Western sanctions have shifted the Russia–China relationship in Beijing's favor: Xi publicly treats Putin as an equal while privately extracting concessions, pressing for below-market terms on Power of Siberia 2, expanding trade and yuan-based financing for a development bank, and deepening ties that leave Moscow more dependent on China even as it seeks to guard against instability around North Korea and the broader Western order.