Moscow and Beijing's efforts to build stronger bilateral ties continued apace last week as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Chinese counterpart, Mr. Hu Jintao, in St. Petersburg. The two men had plenty to talk about. Their countries share common international interests and concerns. Yet it is revealing that this summit, unlike its predecessors, did not raise international fears of a new Moscow-Beijing axis. Russia and China want good relations but not at the expense of ties with the rest of the world.

The visit by Mr. Hu is his first trip abroad as president: His visit to Moscow sends a message about the importance China attaches to relations with its neighbor to the north. The two countries have steadily improved their relations since Mr. Putin signed a friendship treaty with then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin in 2001. At the time, there were worries that the two countries would try to form a counterweight to the U.S.-led order, perhaps reprising the bipolarity of the Cold War system. Although Mr. Putin noted last week that relations between the two countries "have reached their highest level ever," such fears were -- and remain -- exaggerated.

China and Russia do have common concerns. They both want to see the United Nations resume its central role in the international order and play a role in the rebuilding of Iraq. For them the U.N. is a vital international institution -- not only in its own right, but also as a check on U.S. ambitions. The same interest is reflected in their regular call for a "multipolar world order" -- an explicit rejection of U.S. unilateralism.