If there is anyone left who doubted our previous warnings about the rise of a new axis of evil, this week's events should put those doubts to rest. Vladimir Putin made a two-day visit to China, meeting with Xi Jinping in China’s Heilongjiang province. The two reportedly spoke of their deepening alliance and the mutual interests their countries share in both economic and military matters. On Friday, they curiously chose to release a brief, single-sentence statement on the subject of nuclear war, but it wasn't a threat to begin nuking their adversaries. Instead, the statement simply said, "There can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be fought." I suppose that's better than the alternative, but it's still disturbing. (Newsweek)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have issued a one-sentence statement about nuclear war as part of their "new era" strategic partnership.

Putin and Xi announced plans to deepen their partnership on Thursday, issuing a statement addressing their position on a number of issues facing the world, ranging from questions about the economy to the war between Russia and Ukraine. China and Russia have steadily strengthened ties as the two countries have found regularly themselves at odds with much of the West.

The United States has seen its long-frayed relations with both countries become even more strained in recent years. Washington emerged as a staunch supporter of Ukraine after Putin ordered an invasion of the Eastern European nation in February 2022, delivering billions of dollars of aid to help Kyiv defend itself.

That statement is pretty much identical to ones that Putin has made in the recent past. China has been more quiet on the subject by comparison. But actions speak louder than words as we all know and neither of their actions seem to be a good fit. China has been building up its stockpile of nuclear weapons, doubling the size of its arsenal in just the past three years and Russia keeps moving theirs around, including recent relocations of missiles into Belarus. They may not be actively planning a launch any time in the near future, but they are clearly ensuring they will be ready if they feel they need to.

Newsweek quotes some foreign policy analysts who believe that Russia and China aren't really growing that much closer and that their current relationship is more one of convenience. It's true that each nation has its own interests and they may not always align perfectly, but both leaders view the combined power of the United States and NATO as a threat and they clearly hope to end America's traditional status as a global hegemon.

The war in Ukraine is also serving as a catalyst for closer Sino-Russian ties. Choosing sides in terms of supporting either Russia or Ukraine has forced much of the world into one camp or the other. Russia and China have openly embraced the mutual opportunities they see. Russia increases its military firepower by purchasing Chinese weapons and supplies while China makes money and benefits from purchasing cheap Russian oil. China has made a public show of issuing calming statements and encouraging an end to the hostilities, but in the background, they have been financing a lot of Russia's efforts and profiting off of the conflict.

Of course, if push comes to shove, neither China nor Russia are really prepared for a nuclear war. Neither is the United States. Nobody is. The irony in all of this is that Putin and Xi are absolutely correct. There are no winners in a nuclear war. Only losers. All of the missiles from both sides would wind up being fired in barely a day. Time Magazine published a lengthy analysis of what would follow last year. Hundreds of millions would be killed in the major cities almost immediately. The fires would burn for weeks and that would be followed by a nuclear winter that would kill off much of the rest of the population. Unfortunately, nobody is going to be the first to disarm, so all we can really do is pray that mutually assured destruction continues to keep everyone's fingers off of the buttons.