As the U.S., European Union (E.U.), and Great Britain have dramatically ratcheted up sanctions on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow last week sent Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Rosneft chief executive officer Igor Sechin, and other senior officials to China to discuss deepening energy ties and wider cooperation. This deputation follows the major reduction in Russian oil that China has bought so far this year in the wake of the heightened Western sanctions on Moscow, and increased surveillance on Beijing’s role in assisting its…