As the Beijing Olympics got underway, Putin made a trip to China and met with Chinese President Xi.
That meeting may come to be remembered as the one of the most-consequential this century. Formally, they agreed to a new natural gas pipeline but it's tough to imagine they didn't discuss much more.
The west sanctioning Russia heavily and China staying on the sidelines was one thing, but China providing military or other aid is altogether different.
Several reports now say the US sent a diplomatic cable to allies and NATO and Asia saying China had shown willingnesss to supply Russia with military and economic assistance.
In somewhat of a confirmation of that, China foreign minister Wangyi spoke with his Spanish counterpart today and then said China has a legitimate right to safeguard its interest and hopes not to be impacted by sanctions on Russia.
This is starting to look like a major schism has opened. China and Russia have long had a testy relationship but the economics of Russia's vast natural resources and China's consumption makes for a natural alliance. Both also have grave concerns about US power.
We're watching globalization crumble and the inevitable result is inefficiency and inflation. This could also be a big crack in US dollar hegemony.