All eyes are trained on Ukraine. And while the United States works to build a coalition to push back against Russia, Beijing, among others, is measuring the Western response to Putin’s aggression.
Over the last several years, and especially during this crisis, Russia and China have learned from each other—both by what they have done, and by what they think they can get away with. Their goal is to try to show the United States and its allies that Western responses will be insufficient, unpalatable, and unsustainable. So what will this war mean globally, as Beijing watches the Western-led response to Putin’s aggression?
It is not yet time to render judgment on the responses to Russia’s destabilizing actions. But it is not too early to think about which responses offer the United States and its partners a template to build upon for assembling coalitions, developing consequences that bite, and deterring further acts of intimidation, coercion, and force.
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