Are Russia and China Moving towards a Mutual Defense Pact?

Fifty one years ago (February 12, 1972) U.S. President Richard M. Nixon landed in Beijing on a cold, blustery day, shook hands with China’s Premier Zhou Enlai, and started a thaw in U.S./China relations that launched China on a path that has made it a world power. During that visit, Zhou declared that “the gate to friendly contact” had been opened. That…