Much of the statement released on Friday by Russia and China formally states what has long been the case: that Moscow and Beijing have similar views and each other’s backs when it comes to quarrels with the West.

But the message here is anything but routine.

At a moment of immense international tension, Russia and China are asserting the arrival of a new geopolitical era.

From now on, the dominance of the US-led global West will no longer be taken for granted – or tolerated.

After decades of humiliation, the world’s autocratic superpowers have risen from their knees and will now up-end the inequitable post-Cold War world order.

The immediate winner here is Mr Putin.

On the brink of a war in Ukraine that he knows will cost Russia dearly if it goes ahead, the Russian president is in dire need of allies.

Chinese economic and diplomatic support might just be enough to soften the blow of sanctions and isolation if he chooses to go ahead with an invasion.

Even if he does not give the order for war, a tighter alignment with Beijing will help him project Russian power in what is shaping up to be a long and frosty Cold War Two.

The document doesn’t mention Ukraine explicitly. Mr Xi is not, to the best of our knowledge, handing Mr Putin a blank cheque for war.

But by throwing China’s full weight behind the grand bargain Mr Putin has demanded from the West, he is giving Moscow much more leverage.