Ignore China-Russia alliance at your peril

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands after a signing ceremony following their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia in June 2019. [AP]

China President Xi Jinping recently paid a state visit to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, his northern neighbour with whom he shares a 4300-kilometre border.

Their seven-course meal caught my attention; it included quail, Kenya's most famous bird. Where did all those birds go?

There is more than meets the eye to the visit amidst the war in Ukraine and the indictment of President Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC).