By all accounts, Chinese President Xi Jinping has had a successful run recently.
Hot on the heels of the Chinese-brokered restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he used a recent visit to Moscow not only to shore up relations with his close (junior) partner, Vladimir Putin, but also to present a “peace plan” for the war in Ukraine.
As The Economist put it, these events have opened a window onto the “world according to Xi.” Meanwhile, Xi’s travels have incited much Sturm und Drang across the West, which itself may be heading toward a strategic dead end.