Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the close relationship between their countries on Tuesday, despite heightened global tensions. Putin described bilateral ties as being at an “unprecedented level,” speaking alongside his Chinese counterpart.
Xi welcomed what he called a relationship of “comprehensive strategic cooperation” between China and Russia, reiterating his wish for the two powers to work together “to build a fairer and more rational global governance system,” according to his remarks before talks with Putin.
Putin in China for SCO summit and parade
Putin has been in China since Sunday, attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin. On Wednesday, he will join a large-scale military parade in Beijing marking 80 years since China’s victory over Japan in the Second World War.
Xi last visited Moscow in May for Russian commemorations of the end of the Second World War.
Confrontation with the West
Both China and Russia are locked in confrontation with the West and the United States. Speaking from Tianjin, Putin signalled no willingness to bend to pressure from US President Donald Trump, despite their recent meeting in Alaska, and rejected any peace deal that would end the war in Ukraine.
China and the US also clashed earlier this year in a tariff dispute, before agreeing to a temporary truce. Relations between Russia, China and European powers remain strained.
Beijing’s global governance ambition
Through the Tianjin summit and the 3 September parade, Beijing is seeking to position itself as a champion of a new model of global governance, opposing what it views as Western hegemony, instability and injustice.
On Monday, Xi condemned “acts of bullying” and denounced “Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation.”
“Always together then and now”
“Our close communication reflects the strategic nature of Russia - China relations, which are now at an unprecedented level,” Putin said.
He added that his presence at Wednesday’s parade would be a way “to pay tribute to the achievements of our peoples, the Russian and the Chinese, and to reaffirm the crucial role of our countries in victory on both the European and Asian fronts.”
“We were always together then and we remain together now,” he underlined.
Xi, for his part, stressed that China–Russia relations have “stood the test of international changes” and remain a partnership of good neighbourliness, comprehensive strategic cooperation and mutually beneficial collaboration aimed at positive results between two major powers.
Ukraine and accusations of support
Allies of Ukraine argue that China is backing Russia in the war, while Beijing insists it remains neutral, accusing the West of prolonging the conflict by supplying weapons to Kyiv.
Athens News Agency