The Moscow-Beijing alliance is here to stay because partnering with China is the only way Putin can sustain his conflict with the West, think tank says

• Russia's growing partnership with China isn't going to fade, a think-tank director said.
• That's because Moscow's alliance with Beijing checks off three big goals for Putin.
• The West should consider enforcing economic sanctions on China as well, he said.

Russia's no-limits partnership with China is here to stay, as tying Moscow's economy to Beijing's is the only option Vladimir Putin has to sustain his war and his antagonism toward the West, according to Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.