It’s huge. 

These two leaders in authoritarianism have made unprecedented joint cause. Perhaps even de facto security allies. They want to create a new order for the world, one that is different from the one created by the United States of America and its partners following World War II.

Chinese President Xi JinpingRussian President Vladimir PutinThey wanted the world to remember the significance of 38^ThPersonal meeting with President Putin in Beijing, Friday. This was just hours before opening the Winter Olympics.

They then made public all of their outrageousness. 5,300-word joint statement in English this weekend, declaring that “a trend has emerged towards redistribution of power in the world” – namely toward them and away from the U.S. and its democratic partners and allies.

The statement is worth reading. Here’s my summary. Russia and China have joined forces in an act of mutual cooperation, which goes beyond even Stalin’s relationship with Mao. This gesture extends to each other’s countries and the rest of the world. Beijing is joining Moscow to oppose NATO’s enlargement, and is now embracing Putin’s vision of an European security system. Russia reciprocated the favour by rejecting the Australia-U.S. Security Agreement, supporting its One China Policy and embracing Russia-Indian-China cooperation. It also blessed its Arctic role.

Russia and China don’t call their alliance an alliance of NATO type, but they’re not shy about their ambitions.

Xi, and Putin read the statement“Reaffirm that new inter-State relationships between Russia and China is superior to the Cold War era’s military and political alliances. The friendship between these two states is unbreakable. There are no areas that can be deemed ‘forbidden’.It is important to emphasize that strengthening bilateral cooperation does not target third-country countries and doesn’t take into account the changes occurring in international environments or other circumstantial factors.

An official of the Biden administration sees a silver lining to the fact that the statement does not mention Ukraine directly, possibly showing China’s concern about the possibility of invasion. However, Xi has done nothing to stop Putin from escalating.

You can find the statementBoth sides are changing the definition of democracy in order to accept their oppressive systems, which censor media and prohibit opposition, jail political opponents, and promote similar authoritarian regimes.

This democracy embrace, as absurd and ridiculous it may sound, is further proof that Russia and China are trying to seize the moral high ground of electoral democracies via Orwellian gobbledygook.

“The sides note” reads the statementAccording to the article, Russia and China, as global powers, have rich cultural and historic heritage and long-standing traditions in democracy. They rely on thousands of years of development experience, wide popular support, and take into account citizens’ needs and interests.

Additionally, the “people of the country decide whether the State they have is democratic.” Elsewhere, however, it warns“That the advocacy of democracy, human rights and freedoms must not be used in order to pressure other countries.”

It covers head-spinning and other broad areas.

They agreed to closer link their economies by cooperating between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Putin’s Eurasian Economic Union. Both sides will collaborate to build the Arctic. They will work together to develop the Arctic and strengthen coordination within multilateral institutions.

In June 2019, I wroteThis space says, “It is time to begin worrying more about the greatest geopolitical shift in the post-Cold War Years.” Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin from Russia have intensified their bilateral strategic alignment as long-time democracy allies in the Atlantic.

The biggest error Western strategists made in the past decade was to treat the Russian and Chinese challenges to the post-1945 international order separately and not as closely related. Biden’s administration even tried to separate the Russia problem from the larger and more urgent China issue.

Even with their historic animosities as well as the many differences that remain, these two nations have been never closer in their histories. Never since World War II have the leading authoritarians of their time been so strategically aligned or personally close – at a time when both have an eye on their historic legacies.  

Putin is contemplating his options in Ukraine. His relationship with China could also help him to manage potential sanctions via deeper energy agreements or financial arrangements.

China and Russia meet Friday announcedNew oil and gas agreements valued at $117.5 million Rosneft (Russia’s largest oil producer) announced a new agreement that will supply Kazakhstan with 100 million tons crude oil over the next ten years to China’s state corporation CNPC. Gazprom, on the other hand, agreed that it would deliver China 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year via a new pipeline.

It’s hard to deny the importance of the economic figures: Trade between the countries increased by 6% last year hit a record $147 billionChina has become Russia’s most important trading partner. Sources of Western intelligence consider that Ukraine’s maximum threat is on Feb. 20th, after the Olympics end. This date also coincides with the ending of the Olympics. massive “Allied Resolve” military exercisesBelarus. This could be used to cover up invasion preparations. This is also a time when Ukrainian rivers and ground remain frozen enough to permit heavy military equipment to be moved most efficiently.

However, whatever Putin’s position on Ukraine may be, the joint statement this week highlights a seismic shift in international relations. This will demand far greater creative, collaborative, and long-term thinking from both the U.S. as well its allies.

Both Russia and China are closer than ever, which has brought them both more advantages. This is at a time where their leaders think they have the momentum. Democracies have been weakened, American politics have become divided and technology gives authoritarian leaders the ability to monitor and control societies.

You might be tempted to criticize the joint declaration of 5,300 words, noting its contradictions and hypocrisy. The only thing that unites Russia and China is their opposition to America. They’ve cynically appropriated the concepts that define U.S. foreign policy – democracy, human rights, and economic development – although their actions are ridiculously inconsistent with their rhetoric.

China-Russian relations will continue to grow if there is not a greater and more persistent push-back by democracies. Amidst the disturbing context provided by Xi, Putin and Ukraine’s crisis, it would be a grave mistake to view the Ukraine crisis as an isolated event.

—Frederick Kempe is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlantic Council.