The country has been gradually expanding military cooperation with the U.S., Japan, and Beijing-claimed Taiwan.

The US Navy is plagued by shipbuilding and maintenance issues, and faces a rising China that is rapidly modernizing its naval force.

Angela Stent, senior fellow at Brookings Institution, says Russian President Vladimir Putin counted on Chinese President Xi Jinping's support when he invaded Ukraine – and continues to count on Beijing's economic support and diplomatic support on a global stage.

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 involved more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 Indo-Pacific and European nations.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday lauded a new trade deal signed with Indonesia and said the United States would be fighting China "in a very friendly fashion."

In May EU leaders said they were ready to “work hand in hand” with China to deal with “common challenges”. But the Europeans’ short-lived friendliness was as much an attempt to manipulate the Americans as it was an attempt to woo the Chinese,

Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang spent months telling everyone what a grave mistake the US was making restricting shipments of artificial intelligence processors to China — with little sign that his argument was swaying anyone.

China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing, days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Putin has sometimes described China as an "ally".