While the West’s relationship with Russia has continued to rapidly deteriorate, relations with China have been on the uptick recently. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in France on Monday, following closely on the heels of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Beijing last month.

As for the United States, if Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022 and the balloon escapade of 2023 were the nadir of recent U.S.-China relations, last month saw the most productive engagement between the world’s competing superpowers since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.