The exchange of New Year greetings between the Chinese and Russian leaders points to their closer political, economic and security ties.

And those were not just the usual well wishes during the festive season. Policy decisions at the highest level of state were anticipated over the last few weeks by statements of the countries’ top diplomats: China and Russia were ready to proceed toward their “no limits strategic partnership of coordination.”

Most people will probably conclude that this is a decision prompted by a new and allegedly “unpredictable” U.S. administration due to take power in the next two weeks.

That would not be surprising because people holding such views probably ignore the fact that Beijing and Moscow created the Shanghai Five (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) in 1996 to defend their interests against what they perceived as a hostile West. They chose at that time a “multipolar world” and opposed external interference and military interventions under the pretext of protecting democracy and human rights.

A logic of war

Under the impulse from China and Russia, the Shanghai Five became in 2001 the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). With the accession of Belarus, India, Iran, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, the SCO now has 10 member countries and 14 dialogue partners.

China and Russia act as steering members of SCO and BRICS. That explains the need for close and permanent consultations between Beijing and Moscow on their bilateral, regional and global issues.

Western claims that SCO is a NATO of the East is firmly denied by China and Russia. In their view, SCO -- and BRICS -- are not directed against third countries; they are open, adhere to peaceful coexistence, multilateral relations and are actively engaged in U.N. and G20.

That, however, is not how the U.S. looks at China and Russia. Those two countries are considered as America’s strategic and systemic competitors opposed to the “rules-based international order.” Russia is qualified as the most immediate security threat, while China remains the most important long-term adversary.

Such a security assessment follows the logic of war. And that’s precisely the current trans-Atlantic policy posture.

Russia’s western borders are front lines of 30 NATO member countries under American political and military leadership. And that largest military alliance in the history of the world is now conducting a proxy war in Ukraine against Russia.

Apart from that, thousands of sanctions have been imposed on Russia to cripple its economy and its ability to conduct military operations in Ukraine.

China is now not involved in any fighting, although it faces occasional skirmishes with India in the Himalayas and with the Philippines in the South China Sea. But China has a number of red lines that could lead to armed conflicts in the years ahead. Taiwan’s status quo and independence are the reddest of all China’s red lines, followed by the countries’ contested maritime borders. Growing trade disputes and alleged Western attempts to suppress China’s economic development are also issues that raise tensions with the U.S. and the European Union.

America First and a logic of peace

So far, the U.S. has not shown any inclination to change its policies toward Russia and China. They remain dangerous security challenges that should be defeated.

That, of course, is not a road to peace. And it remains to be seen whether the new U.S. administration can find a way for peace in Europe, Middle East, and Korean Peninsula, while resolving the status of Taiwan and settling China’s territorial claims in East and South China Seas.

Attempts to split China and Russia is a fool’s errand. Misguided American policies since the early 1990s have sealed China-Russian ties into a solid alliance enshrined in a bilateral treaty as a “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.”

Washington has to fully grasp that reality and focus on rebuilding American economy and a more unified society. To reinforce the country’s strength, America needs more investments in healthcare, education and science. That’s what MAGA should be all about.

Europe should be told that Ukraine is only part of their centuries’ old hatreds and enmities. They should learn to live together in peace and brotherhood, as their solemn and beautiful anthem from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony calls for.

The Middle East peace is a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

Asians should be encouraged to convert the Korean 1953 armistice into a peace agreement, and to finish the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

America cannot solve those problems by itself. Any attempt to do that would be a continuation of “forever war” policies inexorably leading to deaths, miseries and a nuclear holocaust.