China and Russia Bolster Their ‘No Limits’ Alliance

By Seth G. Jones

China and Russia are deepening their cooperation and taking aggressive actions with profound consequences for the U.S. On Dec. 9, Chinese and Russian bombers and other aircraft flew near Japan and South Korea, forcing the U.S. and Japan to scramble fighter aircraft and bombers. The incident is the most recent example of an emboldened China-Russia axis.

Beijing and Moscow view America as their primary enemy and aim to expand their power at the expense of the U.S. and its allies. Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are deeply revisionist and want to re-establish some semblance of the historical Chinese and Russian empires. They have repeatedly noted that their partnership has “no limits” and have met in person more than 40 times.

The arms trade is among many areas of stepped-up cooperation. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China has increased exports to Russia of “highpriority items,” a set of 50 dual-use goods that include computer chips, machine tools, radars and sensors that Russia needs to sustain the war. While Russia lacks the capacity to produce many of these goods in sufficient quantities, China’s massive manufacturing sector can produce some of them at scale.

Chinese exports helped Russia triple its production from 2023 to 2024 of Iskander-M ballistic missiles, which Russia has used to pound Ukrainian cities. In 2024 China accounted for 70% of Russia’s imports of ammonium perchlorate, an essential ingredient in ballistic-missile fuel. China has provided Russia with drone bodies, lithium batteries and fiber-optic cables—the crucial components for fiber-optic drones used in Ukraine, which can bypass electronic jamming.

China is benefiting from this cooperation. Russia has likely assisted with the development of China’s next generation Type 096 nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine by helping provide an advanced propulsion system. Leaked documents indicate that Russia agreed to sell China equipment that could be used in an invasion of Taiwan, such as light amphibious vehicles, self-propelled antitank guns, airborne armored personnel carriers, and special-purpose parachute systems for airdropping heavy loads from high altitudes.

China and Russia have also increased the scope and frequency of exercises and training missions. Between 2017 and 2024, they have conducted roughly 100 joint military exercises in an expanding area that includes Asia, Europe,

the Middle East, the Arctic and Africa. They

Xi and Putin have their differences, but they are united in their desire to weaken America.

have also conducted numerous training missions, including eight joint bomber flights between 2019 and 2024. In July 2024, China and Russia flew Xi’an H-6 and Tu-95 Bear long-range bombers, respectively, on a joint patrol off the coast of Alaska. The two countries have held live-fire naval drills in the South China Sea and have frequently flown and sailed together near Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

Beijing and Moscow also are deepening defense industrial base cooperation. They have signed agreements related to space and missile defense technology transfers and increased cooperation between their respective BeiDou and Glonass satellite navigation systems. In the future, Russia could help China develop ground- and space-based missile warning systems that would raise the effectiveness of China’s existing missile-defense systems and speed up the development of new ones.

Outside the military realm, the countries have strengthened economic and technological ties. China-Russia trade reached roughly $245 billion in 2024, up from $190 billion in 2022. China has been Russia’s No. 1 trading partner since 2014. In addition, China relies on Russia for oil and gas, which now make up about 75% of China’s imports.

There are disagreements between the two countries, as there are with all friends. Chinese leaders have expressed concern about Russia’s warming military relations with North Korea, which will likely lead to a strengthening of Pyongyang’s missile capabilities. Beijing has been reluctant to help Pyongyang with its nuclear program, while Russia is actively supporting the program.

But the trajectory is clear. China and Moscow are growing closer politically, militarily and economically. Their aim is to unseat the U.S. Instead of outlining a plan to counter this axis of authoritarian regimes, the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy glossed over the seriousness of the threat. Administration officials need to understand that appeasing dictators will only embolden them.

Mr. Jones is president of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and author of “The American Edge: The Military Tech Nexus and the Sources of Great Power Dominance.”