> If the fighting of poxy wars in the middle-east and eastern-Ukraine are anything to go by, the cold war is very much alive and kicking. The Middle Eastern proxy wars have more to do with having Israel and Saudi Arabia as allies. >Presumably in the long term, Putin will still be in power having extended the presidential term to infinity plus one years. Perhaps he will. What's going on with the Russian government is still less clear than Xi unambiguously becoming president for life. >I imagine China's rampant authoritarianism and complete ownership of press is more than slightly preferable to a poorly veiled dictator like Putin. Yes, because Russia is a weaker nation that poses less of a direct threat to China. China has more expansive plans, is more authoritarian, and is much stronger economically. Russia isn't the big bear it used to be.