(Video) China’s discontent & the Russia distraction

Russia’s war in Ukraine has put China in an awkward spot: they condemn the invasion, but not the invader.

Still, it’s not really a “limitless” partnership because Xi Jinping has many reasons to be careful about supporting Vladimir Putin, his toxic BFF.

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Melinda Liu, Newsweek’s veteran Beijing bureau chief, who describes the relationship between the two autocrats as a “marriage of convenience.”

More broadly, she explains why Xi’s biggest problem right now is not Putin, but rather COVID — more specifically China’s zero-COVID policy, which has 26 million people under lockdown on Shanghai.