Chinese President Xi Jinping and his visiting Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have signalled a united front against Washington during a summit in Beijing, warning against a global return to the “law of the jungle”.
In a joint statement, China and Russia took on US President Donald Trump over his plans for a $175-billion “Golden Dome” defence system, which would create a new missile field in the Midwest. They also criticised the expiry of the last US-Russia arms control treaty, which fell off in February when Trump failed to respond to Moscow’s proposal to extend it by a year.
Wednesday’s summit, which came a week after Xi hosted Trump in Beijing, began with fanfare in Beijing, complete with a red carpet and a military band playing both Chinese and Russian national anthems. In their opening remarks, the leaders emphasised strengthening ties and cooperation between Russia and China amid an increasingly fractured world order.
“Even against the backdrop of unfavourable external factors, our interaction and economic cooperation demonstrate strong momentum,” the Russian media reported Putin telling Xi. Xi, on the other hand, lauded the “unyielding relationship” between China and Russia. “We have been able to continuously deepen our political mutual trust and strategic coordination with a resilience that remains unyielding despite trials and tribulations,” he said.
The Chinese leader also addressed the United States-Israeli war on Iran, telling his Russian counterpart that further conflict was “inadvisable” and a ceasefire was necessary. “A comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency, resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable and maintaining negotiations is particularly important,” Xi said.
A separate joint statement advised that “there is a danger of fragmentation of the international community and a return to the ‘law of the jungle'”. “Attempts by a number of states to unilaterally manage global affairs, impose their interests on the entire world and limit the sovereign development of other countries, in the spirit of the colonial era, have failed,” the statement said.
No consensus on gas pipeline
Among the major topics of discussion was the energy sector, which Putin called the “driving force of economic cooperation” in Russian-Chinese relations.
As the two leaders planned to sign about 40 agreements ranging from the economy and tourism to education, energy security remained Putin’s priority. The talks did not, however, lead to a new consensus on a long-discussed gas pipeline known as Power of Siberia 2. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that the two sides had reached a “basic understanding” on the pipeline, including its route, but that there was no “clear timeline” for a buildout.
Xi said cooperation in energy and resource connectivity should be the “ballast stone” between the two countries, but did not mention the pipeline.
Although they received the same red-carpet welcome ceremony, Putin’s visit has so far contrasted sharply with Trump’s trip last week. The Russian president is marking 25 years of the Sino-Russian friendship and has visited China dozens of times, having met Xi on more than 40 other occasions.
Putin pledged on Wednesday that Russia and China would pursue an “independent and sovereign” foreign policy programme together to play a “stabilising role on the global stage”.
Also read: Russian President Putin arrives on a two-day visit to China
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