Putin Arrives in Beijing as Russia and China Push ‘Multipolar’ Challenge to West

Putin Arrives in Beijing as Russia and China Push ‘Multipolar’ Challenge to West

Emmitt Barry

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing late Tuesday for high-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Moscow and Beijing prepare to advance a joint statement promoting what they call a “multipolar” world order.

Putin landed at Beijing Capital International Airport shortly after 11:15 p.m. local time, opening a two-day visit aimed at tightening Russia-China ties just days after President Donald Trump’s own trip to China. 

The timing underscores Beijing’s growing role as a diplomatic powerbroker while Russia, under Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, continues leaning heavily on China for trade, energy markets and strategic support. 

Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Xi are expected to sign roughly 40 documents, including agreements related to industry, trade, transport and construction. The centerpiece is expected to be a lengthy joint declaration calling for a new model of international relations and the formation of a multipolar world order.

The two leaders are also expected to hold informal talks “over tea,” a private setting where they are likely to discuss the wars in Ukraine and Iran, economic cooperation and broader tensions with the West.

Putin praised the relationship ahead of the meeting, saying ties between Moscow and Beijing had reached “a truly unprecedented level.” He also said trade between the two countries continues to grow and described the China-Russia partnership as a “stabilizing” force in global affairs.

For the United States and its allies, however, the summit will likely be viewed as another sign that Moscow and Beijing are coordinating more openly against the Western-led international order. China has repeatedly urged Western nations to abandon what it calls a “Cold War mentality,” while Russia has sought to portray its alignment with Beijing as part of a broader push against U.S. dominance.

Russia and China have deepened cooperation since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine isolated the Kremlin from much of the West. China has become Russia’s largest trading partner and the world’s largest buyer of Russian oil, helping Moscow blunt the impact of Western sanctions.

Energy is expected to remain a major item on the agenda. Moscow has long pushed for the “Power of Siberia 2” natural gas pipeline through Mongolia, a project that would give Russia a major new route to send gas to China after losing much of its European market.

The visit also comes as Beijing seeks to balance its relationship with Moscow while keeping open channels with Washington. The back-to-back visits by Trump and Putin have placed Xi at the center of great-power diplomacy, with China presenting itself as an indispensable player in global affairs.

Russia Just Tested A Missile That Could Destroy An Area The Size Of Texas

Russia Just Tested A Missile That Could Destroy An Area The Size Of Texas

MICHAEL SNYDER/

The Russians have developed the most sophisticated nuclear missile in the history of the world by a very wide margin, and it is specifically designed to be used in a future nuclear war with the United States. 

The RS-28 Sarmat is an intercontinental ballistic missile that has a maximum speed of approximately 15,500 miles per hour. It is 116 feet tall, and that makes it roughly as tall as a ten story building. It can carry up to 10 metric tons of thermonuclear warheads, and those warheads can destroy an area the size of the state of Texas. 

We have no defenses against the Sarmat, and so once it is launched we will get hit. It is an incredibly terrifying weapon, and many believe that it is only a matter of time before it actually gets used.

The Sarmat is the crown jewel of Vladimir Putin's very long campaign to modernize Russia's strategic nuclear arsenal...

Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has overseen efforts to upgrade the Soviet-built components of the Russian nuclear triad -- deploying hundreds of new, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, commissioning new nuclear submarines and modernizing nuclear-capable bombers.

The United States doesn't have anything like the Sarmat.

Neither does anyone else.

It has a maximum range of more than 21,000 miles, and it can carry up to 16 independently targetable nuclear warheads...

The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile has an expected range over 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) and can reportedly carry up to 16 independently targeted nuclear warheads, according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a US-based nonprofit. Putin claims the range extends to more than 35,000 kilometers (21,750 miles).

Let me try to put this into language that anyone can understand.

This missile has enough range to reach any target on the entire planet.

So there is nowhere that is out of reach.

A single Sarmat can release 16 independently-targetable nuclear warheads.

That means that one missile goes up, and 16 warheads come down.

And each one of those warheads can instantly destroy an entire major city.

Russia plans to eventually produce more than 40 of these ICBMs.

According to Newsweek, a single Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile can carry enough nuclear warheads to wipe out "an area the size of Texas"...

The RS-28 Sarmat will reportedly carry a nuclear payload large enough to wipe out an area the size of Texas or France.

The Sarmat is the most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile in the entire world by a wide margin, and we have no way to defend against them.

In fact, a study that was conducted by a team of 13 physicists and engineers with the American Physical Society determined that our anti-missile defenses are so feeble that we couldn't even do much "to stop a relative handful of old-fashioned North Korean ICBMs" from reaching their targets.

But just in case we are able to improve them in the future, the Russians have equipped the Sarmat with "a host of capabilities intended to defeat ballistic missile defenses"...

The Sarmat is a silo-launched, liquid-fueled, nuclear-armed ICBM. The missile will reportedly have a host of capabilities intended to defeat ballistic missile defenses, ranging from decoys and other countermeasures to a fractional orbital bombardment capability, and independent post-boost vehicles (IPBV). There have even been suggestions that it could carry a payload of multiple hypersonic boost-glide vehicles.

If Vladimir Putin decides to push the button, we are toast.

Of course most people in the western world assume that Putin would never do that because our retaliatory strikes would destroy the Russians.

But the truth is that so much has changed over the past couple of decades.

The Russians now have the most sophisticated anti-missile systems in the world by a very wide margin, and we are still relying on extremely outdated Minuteman ICBMs that first went into service in the 1960s and 1970s.

If we launched our extremely outdated ICBMs at the Russians, are you sure that they would get through?

The balance of power has shifted dramatically, and most people in the western world have no idea.

Earlier this week, the Russians conducted a test launch of the Sarmat that Putin called an "unconditional success"...

The test-launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region took place at 11:15 a.m. Moscow time today, according to the Kremlin. Around half an hour later, Russian officials said that the missile hit its target at the Kura test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East.

The commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, Sergei Karakayev, informed Putin of the successful test. The Russian leader monitored the launch via video link from his office bunker.

Putin called the test a "major event and unconditional success."

This should have received a lot more attention from the media in the western world, because it is a huge story.

According to Putin, Sarmat missiles will start entering combat service by the end of this calendar year...

Putin said that the nuclear-armed Sarmat missile would enter combat service at the end of the year. It was built to replace the aging Soviet-built Voyevoda.

"This is the most powerful missile in the world," Putin declared, adding that the combined power of the Sarmat's individually targeted warheads is more than four times higher than that of any Western counterpart.

In contrast, the next-generation U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile, the LGM-35 Sentinel, is scheduled to enter combat service in the early 2030s.

In other words, we are way behind.

The Russians are also in the "final stages" of development for two other exceedingly fearsome weapons...

Putin also announced Russia was in the "final stages" of the development of the nuclear-armed Poseidon underwater drone and the Burevestnik cruise missile powered by miniature atomic reactors.

The Poseidon is designed to explode near enemy coastlines and cause a radioactive tsunami. The Burevestnik has virtually unlimited range thanks to nuclear propulsion, allowing it to loiter for days, circling air defenses and attacking from an unexpected direction.

In the future, a Poseidon drone armed with a nuclear weapon could be lurking just off the east coast and we would never even know it.

Once it explodes, a gigantic wall of radioactive water could come sweeping over Washington D.C. or New York City in just moments.

The Russians have been feverishly preparing for the wars of the future.

Meanwhile, our leaders have been focused on other things.

So let's hope that a shooting war between the United States and Russia does not erupt any time soon, because it would not go very well for us.

AI Is Coming For Both Blue-Collar And White-Collar America

AI Is Coming For Both Blue-Collar And White-Collar America

PNW STAFF

The warnings are no longer coming only from science fiction movies or fringe commentators. Increasingly, they are coming from the very executives building the artificial intelligence systems reshaping the global economy. And if even half of their predictions prove accurate, the world may be heading toward one of the largest labor disruptions in modern history.

For decades, Americans were told automation would mostly threaten repetitive factory work while white-collar professionals remained relatively safe. That assumption is rapidly collapsing. AI is now coming for both the office cubicle and the warehouse floor — and the speed of the transition may leave societies dangerously unprepared.

At the center of the latest debate is Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, who recently warned that within 12 to 18 months, artificial intelligence could perform most professional white-collar tasks at human levels. His comments sent shockwaves through industries once viewed as stable career paths: accounting, legal analysis, project management, software development, customer service, and marketing.

The implications are staggering.

For years, college degrees were presented as protection against economic instability. Parents encouraged children to avoid manual labor and pursue “knowledge work” because those careers were supposedly future-proof. But AI systems are rapidly learning to draft contracts, analyze financial reports, write code, create advertising campaigns, summarize meetings, and even generate strategic business recommendations.

Large law firms are already using AI tools to conduct legal discovery and contract review tasks that once required teams of junior associates billing hundreds of hours. Accounting firms are deploying AI systems capable of auditing transactions, spotting irregularities, and preparing financial summaries in seconds. Marketing departments increasingly rely on generative AI to create ad copy, social media campaigns, graphics, and customer analytics with minimal human involvement.

Even software engineers — long considered among the safest professions in the digital age — are now under pressure from AI coding systems. GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT-based coding assistants, and autonomous AI agents can already generate large blocks of functioning code, debug software, and assist with app development. Some companies have begun reducing entry-level coding hires altogether because AI can now handle much of the routine work previously assigned to junior developers.

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Why did Gulf states ask Trump to hold off on Iran strikes? - analysis

Why did Gulf states ask Trump to hold off on Iran strikes? - analysis

AMICHAI STEIN

Fears over a broader regional war and attacks on Gulf infrastructure led the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar to intensify efforts to persuade US President Donald Trump to delay any potential strike on Iran.

Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Monday that he originally planned to strike Iran on Tuesday.

“I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place,” the president tweeted.

He added that “in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States.”

According to regional analysts, Gulf leaders fear that even a limited American strike on Iranian energy or military infrastructure could provoke retaliatory attacks targeting desalination facilities, electrical grids, oil infrastructure, and shipping lanes throughout the Gulf.

Saudi Arabia concerned over infrastructure strikes, Iranian civil war

“Saudi Arabia is worried that if Trump strikes the energy and electricity infrastructure in Iran, the Iranians still have the capability of striking back and destroying desalination plants, electricity generation plants - the infrastructure of Saudi Arabia - which cannot be fully defended,” Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told The Jerusalem Post.

“In the summer, if you lose water desalination, you’re in deep trouble. It could cause a humanitarian crisis,” Haykel said.

He also added that Saudi leaders’ concerns go beyond immediate retaliation and include fears that military escalation could destabilize Iran itself.

“They don’t want a failed state in Iran because a failed state in Iran could lead to a Libya-like situation with civil war. That’s also something that could very seriously destabilize the region,” he said.

According to Haykel, Riyadh and other Gulf capitals have consistently favored de-escalation and negotiated arrangements with Tehran over military confrontation.

“They would like to come to some sort of detente, a de-escalation agreement with the Iranians,” he said. “This has been their position from the very beginning. They were against the war to start with, and they’ve been trying to reach an accommodation with the Iranians and a negotiated settlement.”

Haykel argued that Gulf governments believe Iran’s regime faces greater long-term danger from internal pressures than from external military action.

“The Saudis believe, like I do, that the real threat to the regime is domestic, not external,” he said. “If you leave the regime in place, the people in Iran will eventually take care of it.”

At the same time, Haykel said Gulf states remain deeply skeptical that Washington would sustain a prolonged campaign against Iran if retaliation intensified.

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Mojtaba Khamenei frames war with US, Israel as 'jihad' in defiant message

Mojtaba Khamenei frames war with US, Israel as 'jihad' in defiant message, analyst says

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei used a series of posts on X Tuesday to frame Iran’s war with the United States and Israel in ideological and religious terms, invoking what one counterterrorism analyst described as “jihad — sacred religious war.”

Khamenei’s defiant remarks came after President Donald Trump called off a planned strike on Iran on May 18, and as Washington indicated it would not soften its stance on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Among the most valuable achievements of the Third Sacred Defense [against the American and Zionist invasion] is the emergence of Iran at the level of a major, influential power,” Mojtaba said in one post on X.

“Strip the euphemism away, and what Khamenei is invoking here is jihad — sacred religious war,” Dr. Omar Mohammed, a counterterrorism analyst with the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital.

“‘Sacred Defense’ is the Islamic Republic’s preferred term for jihad against an aggressor; it carries the full weight of religious obligation in Shia jurisprudence,” he added.

“By framing the war with America and Israel this way, Khamenei is not describing a geopolitical conflict. He is declaring a holy war and casting it as a religious duty,” Mohammed added.

Mohammed also said the messaging explicitly identifies “America and the Zionists” as the enemy.

“That is not loose phrasing. The Islamic Republic, under Mojtaba’s father, made hatred of America and hatred of Jews the twin pillars of its ideology for more than 30 years,” he said.

In another post, Khamenei wrote, “By earnestly pursuing the correct, necessary policy of population growth, the great Iranian nation will be able to play a major role and experience strategic leaps in the future, taking long strides toward building the new Islamic-Iranian civilization.”

“The fact that he is now speaking publicly as supreme leader — and that this substantive message is a call to jihad against America and the Jews — tells you what kind of leader he intends to be,” Mohammed added.

Mohammed also noted the irony that the supreme leader was delivering his message on X — a platform the Iranian government has “blocked inside Iran for nearly two decades” — while ordinary Iranians endure what he described as the country’s longest and most severe internet blackout.

“Over four months now, costing the Iranian economy a quarter of a billion dollars a day,” Mohammed said before stating that the supreme leader is “speaking to the world on a platform his own people are forbidden to read, in a country he has cut off from the outside.”