The Russia-Ukraine conflict has predictably become this year’s dominant international story. In the West, China has often been cast alongside Russia as the world’s villain-in-waiting - and this deserves a deep dive into the relationship between two nations seemingly sharing the hot seat on the global stage.

A significant portion of senior officers of the People’s Liberation Army has been trained in Russia. As the relationship between China and U.S.-led NATO countries continues to deteriorate, an examination of Russian-educated military elites within the Chinese leadership is critically important.

Chinese think tanks have far-reaching influence – their scholars serve as researchers and disseminators of state-approved information, and their leaders are also assuming positions of power in the Party. Xi Jinping has relied on think tanks more than his predecessors, and they deserve a closer look.

“Upper echelon strategists,” a term coined in some quarters of the Chinese political establishment, support Xi Jinping by playing an increasingly key role in China’s strategic thinking, ideological discourse, and propaganda work. And as some top scholar-officials move to the center stage in propaganda and ideological work during Xi’s third term, one can expect that “upper echelon strategists” like them will gain more influence in the years to come.