EXPLAINER: Ukraine crisis tests China-Russia partnership

BEIJING (AP) — Russia’s military buildup along its border with Ukraine is testing the possibility of a Moscow-Beijing axis lining up against the U.S. and its allies. Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing this month has fed speculation that a new alliance could form between the two great powers as they face off with the U.S. over a range of issues. Russia and China have backed each other’s positions on opposing a NATO expansion in former Soviet republics and buttressing China’s claim to the self-governing island of Taiwan. But the relationship remains lopsided. China’s confident rise as an economic and political force contrasts with Russia’s growing isolation and reversion to Cold War tactics of intimidation and bullying.