A variety of authors have written about whether or not Russia and China are logical allies. A positive view comes from Gilbert Rozman at Foreign Affairs. A less optimistic opinion is defended at Project Syndicate. Likewise, The Diplomat is less than committed to the idea.
For what it's worth, here's my analysis of a continuing Russia-China axis. Let's begin with what they have in common.
The two nations share an aversion to the messiness of representative government. Both were Communist; only China still claims to be Communist but is merely autocratic as it is no longer exclusively socialist. Both feel, with Rodney Dangerfield, they don't get the respect they deserve.
On the other hand, they share a long border. South of that border, China has more than a billion people, north of the border Russian Siberia is very lightly populated. Most Russians live thousands of miles west in European Russia. Russia worries that China will seek lebensraum in Siberia.
Russia and China would each like to be the main opponent of the U.S. Two can be "opponents" but cannot be the opponent. Conflict is likely to arise over the issue of which is the main opponent and which is the opponent's "sidekick," as Britain has been the U.S. sidekick since WW II. Or in ballroom dance parlance, who will lead and who will follow.
