Xi Jinping is riding pretty high these days. The redshirt Communist dictator has solidified his control over the Chinese Communist Party and China itself, has weathered the COVID-19 tsunami internally and internationally, and is eyeing Taiwan like a cat spying a canary.

Which means absolutely nothing good is going to come out of Xi visiting Russia this week. Vladimir Putin, as people will recall, now has a warrant out for his arrest from the International Criminal Court. So how nice of Xi The Pooh to show up and console poor Vlad in his time of struggle.

Xi’s government gave no details of what the Chinese leader hoped to accomplish. Xi and Putin declared they had a “no limits friendship” before last February’s attack on Ukraine, but China has tried to portray itself as neutral. Beijing called last month for a cease-fire, but Washington said that would ratify the Kremlin’s battlefield gains.”

The Chinese government said Xi would visit Moscow from Monday to Wednesday but gave no indication when he departed. The Russian government said Xi was due to arrive at midday and meet later with Putin.”

China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy and a partner in opposing what both see as American domination of global affairs.”

The meeting gives Putin and Xi a chance to show they have “powerful partners” at a time of strained relations with Washington, said Joseph Torigian, an expert in Chinese-Russian relations at American University in Washington.”

“China can signal that it could even do more to help Russia, and that if relations with the United States continue to deteriorate, they could do a lot more to enable Russia and help Russia in its war against Ukraine,” Torigian said.”

All of this means nothing good for the United States, and marks yet another massive fail for the Biden administration’s foreign policy. When Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, Xi backed Putin – the “no limits friendship” pact. About a year ago, as Russia got bogged down in Ukraine, China backed off. But as the war has been locked in a perpetual stalemate, Xi probably feels like it’s fine to make those friendly overtures to Putin once again.

Joe Biden has, by turns, attempted to placate and be aggressive with Xi Jinping. Remember that Biden has said that “we are in competition, not conflict” with China, and then let us all watch a big Chinese spy balloon float overhead before finally having it shot down, after which he decided to talk tough about “protecting our sovereignty.” Biden also talks a tough game on Chinese aggression against Taiwan, that his administration then directly contradicts. No wonder Xi Jinping feels free and easy to visit Putin in Russia – after all, there will be zero consequences for going!

Meanwhile, Biden bumbles around, denying that any of his family members have EVER gotten money from China!

BREAKING: President #Biden reacts to House GOP’s new memo about his family dealings related to #HunterBiden, saying, “That’s not true,” after asking me back, “My family dealings?” @RepJamesComer’s memo, citing bank records, says Biden family members received $1M from Hunter… https://t.co/h108Mqhfv1 pic.twitter.com/xdCuuUNvcU

— Iris Tao (@IrisTaoTV) March 17, 2023

(Pssst, Joe – Hunter’s legal team confirmed the money transfers.)

Biden’s weak foreign policy is creating a new problem, according to Daniel W. Drezner, writing in POLITICO. Biden has in turn alienated and coddled countries like China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia – and it’s creating a “Legion of Doom,” according to Drezner.

In my conversations with Chinese diplomats, they express considerable exasperation with Russia’s actions in Ukraine. For them, the invasion upset a strategic situation that they believed was favorable to China. Ordinary Chinese people still harbor resentments toward Russia; I have heard Chinese students vent in great detail about territorial land grabs by 19th century tsars that have yet to be reversed. Similarly, my Russian colleagues have complained that their bilateral relations with Iran have been stymied by Tehran’s historical grievances.”

Despite these lingering resentments, however, the past year has taught all of these countries an important lesson: as much as they might have issues with each other, they have much bigger issues with the United States. Over the past year, while imposing extensive sanctions on Russia, the United States has also taken an extremely hawkish turn on China. The policies expressing this sentiment range from stringent export controls to public support for Taiwan to the possible banning of TikTok. At the same time, the Biden administration has essentially continued status quo policies toward Iran. Efforts to revive the Iranian nuclear agreement have failed.”

This leaves all three countries under various degrees of U.S.-led sanctions regimes — and, unsurprisingly, they are starting to work more closely together. Iran is in the final stages of achieving full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security forum led by China and Russia. China helped broker an entente between Iran and Saudi Arabia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is “increasingly concerned” that China might supply weapons to Russia to assist Ukraine. The relationship between Iran and Russia has mushroomed during the course of the war in Ukraine, with NSC spokesman John Kirby labeling it “a full-scale defense partnership.”

Wow, doesn’t that just make you feel warm and fuzzy about how well Biden’s foreign policy is playing out in reality? All the countries involved may have conflicting interests, but they are all happy to band together to challenge the Biden administration. And we have at least another year and a half of watching Grandpa Joe stumble his way through his presidency.

China has massive demographic problems that have been brewing for decades and are finally visible. Xi Jinping is looking to solidify Chinese power in Asia before China no longer has enough manpower to defend itself. And Joe Biden is not in any way prepared to deal with a 3 am phone call – especially not one that tells him that China has invaded Taiwan. After all, the old man needs his rest. And really – does anyone think that Xi Jinping actually respects Joe Biden, and is afraid of whatever consequences might come from challenging the United States?

If he was, he wouldn’t be headed to Moscow to chum around with Putin.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click