English idiom that explains a cooperative/competitive business relationship?

So in Chinese we have the phrase “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” （三國义義) which references a historical period during which the state of power was constantly fluctuating, and parties would simultaneously make alliances when it suited them and yet still be jockeying to get the upper hand. Do we have an idiom relationship that describes the type of co-dependent and yet slightly love hate alliances. For example, the way the US, the UK and France feel about each other. In short, a less clunky way to describe an underlying “cooperative and yet competitive” relationship?