According to American economist James Rickards, the world is in a three-handed poker game today. Having studied the complex relations between global nations, he has concluded that the United States is the main loser in this game. Russia and China have formed a strong alliance, which is of serious detriment to the world's biggest economy.

Washington made a huge strategic mistake by allowing Moscow to forge an alliance with Beijing amid the conflict in Ukraine, James Rickards wrote for The Daily Reckoning. “When future historians look back on the 2010s they will be baffled by the lost opportunity for the US to mend fences with Russia, develop economic relations and create a win-win relationship between the world’s greatest technology innovator and the world’s greatest natural resources provider,” the expert noted. "Had the US pursued closer ties with Russia years ago, rather than antagonizing it and driving it into a deeper alliance with China," Moscow and Beijing would have been unable to develop bilateral ties and deepen cooperation, he added.

“Ultimately, this two-against-one strategic alignment of China and Russia against the US is a strategic blunder by the US,” the economist said. Apparently, the latter is the loser in this three-way game of poker. In his opinion, the Ukrainian crisis only contributes to the further strengthening of relations between the two superpowers. Besides, this indicates that the White House has failed in one of the key geopolitical missions of recent decades. Rickards is also convinced that the war in Ukraine will have negative consequences for the United States, including a weaker dollar and an economic downturn.