China's drive for a new global order leaves Putin in the back seat

As he left a state reception at the Kremlin on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping turned to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and said the world was undergoing changes “the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years.”

“And we are the ones driving these changes together,” he said.

“I agree,” Putin replied, shaking hands with the Chinese leader in an exchange that was captured on camera.

Xi’s three-day visit, his first since Putin invaded Ukraine last year, was the latest step in Beijing’s bid to promote an alternative international order that is less dominated by the United States. But, experts told NBC News, it highlighted the extent to which Moscow — weakened by the war now grinding into its second year — may have to settle for playing second fiddle.