China, the world's new center of gravity?

Russia and China have just agreed on the construction of a gas pipeline, during a visit by Xi Jinping to Moscow. A sign that Russia, like other powers, is turning towards a country that intends to present itself as an alternative to the Western order.

More than a year after the start of the war in Ukraine, China still refuses to condemn the Russian invasion at the United Nations (UN). Xi Jinping’s government has repeatedly called for the preservation of international stability and emphasized the importance of diplomacy in resolving conflicts. Since the end of last year—and following the abandonment last December of the very strict «zero-COVID» policy that had isolated China from the rest of the world—Beijing has hosted a growing number of high-level visits. Among those received were Olaf Scholz and Charles Michel, the German chancellor and the president of the European Council. Both have e