Xi and Putin condemn US, pledge closer ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned what they cast as increasingly aggressive US behavior on Thursday and pledged to deepen their countries' already close defense and military ties.

In a clear snub to Washington, whose top diplomat flew into China last month to try to persuade Beijing to scale back its relationship with Moscow, Xi signaled Beijing and Moscow saw eye to eye on a range of important issues, including on Ukraine, and would resist Western pressure to downgrade their ties.

"The China-Russia relationship today is hard-earned, and the two sides need to cherish and nurture it," Xi told Putin.

"China is willing to jointly achieve the development and rejuvenation of our respective countries, and work together to uphold fairness and justice in the world."

A joint statement spoke of concerns about what were described as US efforts to violate the strategic nuclear balance, about global US missile defense that threatened Russia and China, and about US plans for high precision non-nuclear weapons.

Putin, on his first overseas trip since being inaugurated this month for a new presidential term, described Moscow and Beijing's co-operation in world affairs as one of the main stabilizing factors in the international arena.

"Together we are defending the principles of justice and a democratic world order reflecting multipolar realities and based on international law," Putin told Xi.


Reuters