A nation must think before it acts.
“They should be happy if they get something fairly symbolic,” said Jacques deLisle, who teaches Chinese law and politics at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. “Now, is that a real big victory? No. But I think the victory for everybody is to keep the relationship from going off the rails.”
The Syria strike may further complicate the talks. In February, Russia and China vetoed together a United Nations resolution to impose sanctions on Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons, the seventh time Russia has wielded a veto regarding Syria and the sixth time China has done so since the civil war began in 2011.