This Country Proves Russia and China Are Not on the Same Team

The Russia-China ‘alliance’ has a crack running straight through Kazakhstan.

Kazakh military aircrafts fly during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in WWII, in central Astana on May 7, 2025. Stanislav Filippov/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

Most of the world has grown used to speaking of Moscow and Beijing in the same breath. “The axis of autocracy,” “no limits partnership,” etc. That picture is tidy, and partially wrong.