Somewhat strangely given that the G-7 summit he had just participated in issued a harshly worded statement against Beijing’s politics, Biden promised a coming “thaw” in relations with China. He dismissed the spy-balloon incident as “silly.” And on background, the White House has been briefing that sanctions will be lifted against Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu.

This is notably something that Donald J. Trump tried as he headed into his reelection campaign, by ending his mostly phony trade war with China.

It’s an interesting play. In some ways China has come to the assistance of Russia in its war on Ukraine, becoming a bigger buyer of Russian energy and other supplies. Chairman Xi has also highlighted his good relations with Russia at precisely the time that Western democracies and Russia have hit an absolute post–Cold War nadir in diplomatic relations, even measured in the staff at various embassies.

But at the same time, China seems to be taking advantage of Russian weakness by making a bigger splash diplomatically in Russia’s old central-Asian playground.

As ever, the U.S. has an interest in the long run of keeping the “no-limits partnership” of China and Russia unstable. A slight diplomatic thaw may help that, whether China deserves the new consideration or not.