OREANDA-NEWS. The Japanese newspaper Financial Times writes that the United States began to view China as a main threat, although it was Russia that challenged the West by the annexation of Crimea.

The publication notes that over the past 3 years, Moscow has lost the status of the main rival of Washington, and at present China is playing this role. The newspaper claims that the administration of US President Donald Trump began to consider Beijing as a biggest threat, both in terms of technology and weapons, despite the fact that it was Russia that directly challenged the Western-oriented world order by the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Financial Times adds that China is acting in accordance with a new role, and its threats and demands are “paired with increasingly combative tone.” The newspaper recalls that the interaction between Moscow and Beijing intensified after the introduction of Western sanctions imposed due to the annexation of Crimea.

In some quarters in the USA, it is considered that the Kremlin is close to unite with the White House to counter China. This is indicated not only by a change of roles of the two powers, but some signs evidencing that the connection between Moscow and Beijing is not as strong as it seems at first glance.