Putin calls xi ‘dear friend’ at the Russia Mina Summit in Beijing

BEIJING (AP) – Chinese leader Xi Jinping has welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin as his “old friend.”

Relationships between China and Russia It has become deeper in recent years, especially following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. US President Donald Trumps An unorthodox approach The war has given a twist on relationships, but it doesn’t seem to have fundamentally changed it.

Putin called XI as his “dear friend” and said Moscow’s relationship with Beijing was “an unprecedented high level.”

Among the signs of importance that China places in relations, their formal meeting was followed by tea with top aides at Zhongnanhai, a walled complex that is the heart of Chinese power.

China announced after discussion that it will begin offering for 30 days Visa-free access For Russian travelers starting later this month.

The lecture will arrive the day after both attended Summit The day before the Shanghai Cooperation Agency, the nearby China’s Tianjin city, and the Grand China’s military parade Beijing marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The Soviet Union was neutral for most of the war in Asia, but provided support to China in its previous battle against Japanese invasions in the 1930s. It also declared a war with Japan on the decline of World War II, sending troops across the border to northeastern China, where Japan was occupied.

“We were always together and we were together now,” Putin said.

China says it is neutral The Ukrainian War However, by continuing trade despite Western sanctions, it provided Russia with an economic lifeline.

According to a news agency for Russian Fax Interfax, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, said a memorandum of understanding has been signed to build another natural gas pipeline in China.

The Russian state gas company has also signed an agreement with the Chinese state energy company to increase delivery through existing routes, the media said.

The US and the European Union have also sanctioned Chinese companies that say they bet Russian military industry.

“China and Russia face the same problem and must work together to collaborate with pressure from the US,” said Li Xin, director of the European Asian Studies Institute at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

China is also one of Trump’s major targets for tax on imports, but he has retreated from the escalation of the tariff war, and his administration has begun negotiations with Beijing in a trade deal.

The 10-member Shanghai cooperation organization summit brought XI and Putin along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Separate lectures A bystander of the Tianjin Conference along with both leaders.

US President Donald Trump’s sudden tariffs on India and tone from the White House brought New Delhi closer to China and Russia, but Modi will not attend China’s military parade.

XI tried to position China as the leader of the country that felt disadvantaged by the US-controlled post-World War II orders.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Summit and once again at the meeting with Putin, he proposed an initiative to build a “fair and equitable global governance system.”

China doesn’t want to overturn the global order, but it will change it and serve its profits, Lee said.

“China and Russia still don’t have the power to change the world order, but they are always looking for reforms that benefit them,” he said.

Putin and XI held a three-way meeting with Mongolian President Khurrelsukh Ukhnaa prior to their speech. His inland country It is sandwiched between two giants, the grassland and the mineral resource.

Putin said the three countries are good neighbors and have a common interest in building bonds.

Putin made it in 2024 Official visit to Mongoliathe government ignored the call to arrest him on an International Criminal Court warrant on suspicion of war crimes caused by Ukraine’s invasion.

___

Associated Press author Huizhong Wu and researcher Yu Bing contributed to this report.