The Triangle America Cannot Break The Balance of the Unwilling The high-level meetings held in Beijing over the past week confirm the existence of the much-discussed “strategic triangle.” It remains virtual, and there is no reason to believe that the three great powers of the modern world are about to sit down at a negotiating table to redesign the global order. “Congresses of Vienna” usually follow world wars, and humanity, at least for now, appears spared that experience. Yet it is precisely the relationship between Russia, China, and the United States that now constitutes the balance of power which classical international politics considers the only reliable mechanism for preserving even a fragile peace. The architects of this balance are Moscow and Beijing, while Washington remains a necessary, if unpleasant-tasting, ingredient. That reality defined both the substance and the outcome of the two recent visits to Beijing - first by Donald Trump and several days later by Vladimir Puti...