By Dmitry Antonov
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Thursday their two countries should be “friends of steel”, as they pledged to boost cooperation to a new level at a time of heightened confrontation with the West.
At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the United States.
Xi is the most powerful of more than two dozen foreign leaders who are visiting Moscow this week to mark Thursday’s 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two – a celebration of huge significance for Putin.
Xi’s participation is an important boost to Putin at a time of acute geopolitical tensions from the Middle East to South Asia, and as Russia comes under pressure from the United States in faltering talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
China and Russia should safeguard international fairness and justice and “be true friends of steel that have been through a hundred trials by fire”, Xi told Putin in televised comments.
The two countries should solidify the foundations of their cooperation and “eliminate external interference”, said Xi, whose country is currently engaged in a tariff war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Putin and Xi have met dozens of times and signed a “no limits” strategic partnership in February 2022, less than three weeks before Putin sent his army into Ukraine. China is Russia’s biggest trading partner and has thrown Moscow an economic lifeline that has helped it navigate Western sanctions.
Putin said the two leaders would personally oversee all key elements in the relationship, aiming for a substantial boost to trade and investment by 2030.
POWERFUL GUEST
Domestically, the World War Two anniversary offers Putin a chance to rally Russians in remembrance of a historic feat that is central to the country’s national identity. The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in the war, including many millions in Ukraine, which was also devastated.
On the world stage, Putin aims to show that he has powerful allies, and to demonstrate that years of Western sanctions have failed to isolate Russia.
In opening remarks after greeting Xi in one of the Kremlin’s most opulent halls, Putin thanked him for coming to Moscow to mark 80 years since the “sacred” victory over Adolf Hitler.
“The victory over fascism, achieved at the cost of enormous sacrifices, is of lasting significance,” Putin said.
“Together with our Chinese friends, we firmly stand guard over historical truth, protect the memory of the events of the war years, and counteract modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism.”
Putin has portrayed his war in Ukraine as a struggle against modern-day Nazis from the start. Ukraine and its allies reject that characterisation as a grotesque falsehood, accusing Moscow of conducting an imperial-style invasion.
Xi said the two countries, as world powers and permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, would work together to counter “unilateralism and bullying” – an implied reference to the United States.
CEASEFIRE PRESSURE
Putin last week announced a unilateral three-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, beginning on Thursday. Ukraine has not committed to abide by it, calling it a ruse by Putin to create the impression he wants to end the war. Instead, it has declared its willingness to join a ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.
Both countries are under pressure from Trump to reach a peace deal, and Washington has threatened repeatedly to walk away from talks unless there is clear progress.
Ukraine targeted Moscow with drones for three days earlier this week, but the skies above the capital were calm on Thursday. With so many foreign leaders present, any attacks during the May 9 events could embarrass Putin and would likely draw a tough response from Moscow.
A Ukrainian military spokesperson told Reuters that Russian troops had continued to conduct assaults in several areas on the eastern front, despite the ceasefire.
Russia’s defence ministry said Ukrainian forces had made two attempts to break through the border into Russia’s Kursk region since the start of the ceasefire. Reuters could not independently verify the claims by either side.
Chinese troops will take part in Friday’s military parade on Red Square, the centrepiece of the commemorations. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday urged countries not to send their militaries to participate, saying it would go against some countries’ declared neutrality in the war.
Xi has called for talks to end the conflict in Ukraine and has accused the U.S. of stoking it with weapons supplies to Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has in the past urged him to try to persuade Putin to halt the war.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov in Moscow, Kyiv and Beijing newsroom and Maxim Rodionov, Filipp Lebedev and Alexander Marrow in London, writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
