Does Russia and China trust each other?

What’s an $11.2 trillion economy to do when faced with high debt, slowing growth, and potential tariffs on $517 billion in goods courtesy of the biggest economy in the world (the U.S.)?

Step 1: Get cozy with Russia

U.S. adversaries Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin got together yesterday for a pancake cook-off high-level summit aimed at deepening ties between the two countries in trade, commerce, and military tactics.

Xi’s takeaway: “Together with our Russian colleagues, we will increase fruitful cooperation in international affairs and intensify coordination…to oppose the policy of unilateral actions and trade protectionism.”

• Translation? The two leaders vowed to stand together against protectionism (subtweeting current U.S. trade policy). Putin said he expects trade between Russia and China to climb to $100 billion this year, up from $87 billion last year.

Step 2: Cut some business deals

Xi and Putin weren’t the only ones bonding over breakfast. Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba agreed to take a 10% stake in Russian tech firm Mail.Ru.

The stake’s worth ~$484 million, and it’s only one of the deals Alibaba shook on with the Russians. It’ll also team up with the state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund and telecom firm MegaFon to develop an online shopping platform in Russia.

+ While we’re here: Boeing’s also got friends in China. It said yesterdaythat Chinese airlines will buy $1.2 trillion worth of planes in the next two decades, hiking its previous forecast for Chinese demand by 6.2%.

Step 3: Kickstart a charm offensive

Beijing is buttering up U.S. investors in the meantime—Chinese VP Wang Qishan is set to meet with execs from JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Blackstone this weekend.