President Xi Jinping hailed China and Russia’s “unyielding” ties in talks with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, as the pair met to underscore their alliance days after US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing.
Putin was received by Xi outside Beijing’s opulent Great Hall of the People in much the same fashion as Trump last week, complete with chanting children and military fanfare.
But the language was much warmer, with Xi telling the Russian leader Beijing and Moscow have “continuously deepened our political mutual trust and strategic coordination with a resilience that remains unyielding”, according to Chinese state media.
Opening talks, both were quick to laud their countries’ special ties as they extended their treaty of “friendly cooperation”.
Putin, quoting a Chinese phrase, told Xi: “A day apart feels like three autumns,” adding that relations had reached an “unprecedentedly high level” despite “unfavourable external factors”, Russian media footage showed.
In an apparent swipe at the United States, Xi warned of “unilateral and hegemonic countercurrents running rampant” in the world.
Xi said the countries should focus on a long-term strategy and promote a “more just and reasonable” global governance system, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
“The reason China-Russia relations have reached this level is because we have been able to deepen political mutual trust and strategic cooperation,” Xi said at the start of his meeting with Putin.
Putin said their relations were helping ensure global stability and stressed that Russia remained a reliable energy supplier amid Middle East disruption
