Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have kicked off bilateral talks in Beijing, on the eve of a massive military parade in the Chinese capital.
Putin hailed relations between the countries, saying they were at an “unprecedented level”.
“Dear friend, both I and the entire Russian delegation are pleased to meet once again with our Chinese friends and colleagues,” Putin told Xi, according to a video published on the Kremlin’s official Telegram messaging app.
“Our close communication reflects the strategic nature of Russia-China relations, which are at an unprecedentedly high level,” he added.
“We were always together then, and we remain together now.”
Xi told Putin that “China-Russia relations have withstood the test of international changes” – adding that Beijing was willing to work with Moscow to “promote the construction of a more just and reasonable global governance system”.
Xi is set to host China’s largest-ever military parade on Wednesday, which will mark the 80th anniversary of the surrender of the Japanese in China at the end of World War Two.
In May, Xi similarly visited Moscow for Russia’s celebrations to mark the defeat of the Nazis.
This week’s meetings come at a time when Xi seeks to project Beijing’s power on the international stage – not just as the world’s second-largest economy, but also as a diplomatic heavyweight.
Xi has emphasised China’s role as a stable trading partner while US president Donald Trump’s tariffs have upended economic relationships around the world.
Now, while a deal with the Russian leader to end the war in Ukraine continues to elude Trump, Xi’s welcome of Putin to Beijing demonstrates their close ties.
The pair have previously touted their countries’ relationship as a “friendship with no limits”.
Xi and Putin criticised Western governments during the summit on Monday, with Xi slamming “bullying” from certain countries – an apparent veiled reference to the US – while Putin defended Russia’s Ukraine offensive and blamed the West for triggering the conflict.
The two leaders met in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The talks followed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit that Xi hosted in nearby Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, where he urged members to “oppose Cold War thinking, bloc confrontation and bullying behaviour.”
Putin said the summit – which was also attended by world leaders from India, Iran and Pakistan – had laid the foundations for a new system to replace “outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models”.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un will also attend the military parade on Wednesday, in what will be a landmark visit, after crossing the border into China on his special train early on Tuesday.
It is Kim’s first multilateral international meeting. It is also the first time in decades that a North Korean leader will attend a Chinese military parade – the last time this happened was when Kim’s grandfather, the founder of North Korea Kim Il-Sung, attended in 1959.
Most Western leaders are not expected to show up at the parade, due to their opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has driven the sanctions against Putin’s regime.
Beijing, however, has not criticised Putin’s war. It has been accused by the US and its allies of aiding Russia’s war effort – which Beijing denies – through its supply of dual-use materials and purchases of Russian oil.
Kim has supplied both weapons and troops to the Russian invasion.
