After Donald Trump issued a 50-day ultimatum to Russia over the Ukraine war, China delivered a scathing response. Beijing slammed the U.S. for trying to arm-twist Putin with “illegal unilateral sanctions” and warned that coercion won’t bring peace. With China and India still top buyers of Russian energy, Trump’s secondary tariff plan risks a global blowback. Is Xi Jinping preparing to side with Putin against Trump’s threats?