China's Axis of Autocracy Isn't Looking So Hot

"Beijing has grand plans to undermine American power by joining forces with other authoritarian states, including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and North Korea. Until recently, this scheme appeared to be working. Beijing's ties with Iran and Russia had blunted America's efforts to economically isolate Tehran and Moscow, and granted China a ready supply of cheap energy and some well-located partners."

"When Xi hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and other representatives of the global South in Beijing last summer, he duly pitched a vision that gave autocrats a greater voice in world affairs. Less than a year on, both Maduro and longtime Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are gone, and Khamenei's son Mojtaba is now struggling to hold the Islamic Republic together."

"Beijing initially condemned Trump's attack on Venezuela and called for Maduro's release after his capture by U.S. forces, but then quickly softened, stating that China would continue to work and trade with Venezuela's new regime. More significant, Xi has hardly rushed to his friends' defense."

China pursued a strategy of strengthening ties with authoritarian states including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and North Korea to undermine American global power and secure cheap energy supplies. However, Trump's aggressive policies toward these regimes have exposed China's unreliability as a partner. When crises struck Venezuela and Iran, Beijing failed to provide meaningful support, instead quickly adapting to work with new regimes. This inconsistency damages China's credibility among authoritarian leaders who viewed Beijing as a dependable counterweight to American influence. The collapse of these partnerships suggests that authoritarian regimes cannot rely on China as a stable backstop against U.S. pressure, fundamentally weakening Beijing's strategy to build a coalition of autocratic states.

Read at The Atlantic