The equilibrium between dc bus voltage and ac bus frequency (Udc-f equilibrium) is the algorithm core of unified control strategies for ac-dc interlinking converters (ILCs), because the equilibrium implements certain mechanism. However, what the mechanism is has not been explicitly explored, which hinders further studies on unified control. This paper reveals that the state-space model of a Udc-f equilibrium controlled ILC is highly similar to that of a shaft-to-shaft machines system. Hence a detailed mechanism is discovered and named “virtual shaft-to-shaft machine (VSSM)” mechanism. A significant feature of VSSM mechanism is self-synchronization without current sampling or ac voltage sampling.