What Happened: China and Russia proclaimed a deep strategic alliance in a joint communique that said there were "no limits" or "forbidden areas of cooperation" following a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Reuters reported Feb. 4. The statement said China supports Russia's demands for new European security arrangements and opposition to NATO's eastward expansion.

Why It Matters: The joint statement was not significantly stronger than previous Chinese statements regarding Russia's security, and it did not say, for example, that China supports Russia taking the steps it deems necessary to ensure its security. The statement, therefore, did not significantly strengthen Russia's hand in European security talks and the current crisis around Ukraine, even when combined with the announcement of a gas deal between Russian gas giant Gazprom and Chinese energy group China National Petroleum Corp. Although Russia will supply China with 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas from the Russian island of Sakhalin per year, these volumes pale in comparison to the amount of natural gas that Russia ships to Europe.

Background: Russia's continued military buildup near the Ukrainian border has sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity, as French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Putin in Moscow on Feb. 7 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv the following day. U.S. President Joe Biden will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Feb. 7 before Scholz travels to Kyiv and Moscow from Feb. 14-15 in a bid to calm tensions between NATO and Russia. The new gas agreement is part of a plan to increase Russian gas exports to China to 48 bcm a year, but the deal did not specify a timeline. In 2021, Russia exported 16.5 bcm of gas to China and approximately 180 bcm to Europe.