‘Russia needs China more’: Are Putin and Xi in a marriage of convenience?

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have strengthened relations since the West imposed sanctions on Russia [File: Sergei Bobylev/Sputnik/Kremlin via AP]

After China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin pledged a “new era” of partnership, experts are questioning the depth of the relationship between the two most powerful rivals of the United States and its economic impact.

China and Russia have a long and complex relationship.