Post diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao pulls apart the language of the Xi-Putin meeting in Uzbekistan and looks at the agendas at play, how they relate to China’s troubled domestic politics and what this means for the future of the Sino-Russian partnership. Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham looks at the state-of-the-union speech from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and how it targets new aspects of the EU relationship with China.