Xi lands in Moscow to beef up ‘no limits’ Putin partnership

MOSCOW: Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Moscow on Wednesday for a key three-day visit including a grand Victory Day parade and a show of support for Vladimir Putin.

Moscow and Beijing declared a “no limits partnership” weeks before Putin ordered Russia´s Ukraine offensive in February 2022. The expanded military and trade ties since have troubled the West.

The visit comes with rising China-US tensions over biting US trade tariffs, while President Donald Trump has also made overtures to Putin in a bid to mediate the conflict in Ukraine. In an article for Russia´s Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper published on Wednesday, Xi hailed “resilient” China-Russia ties and called for other countries to stay out of their relationship.

“The two sides should jointly resist any attempt to interfere with and undermine the China-Russia friendship and mutual trust, not be confused by temporary events or disturbed by the rough seas and use the certainty and resilience of China-Russia strategic cooperation to jointly promote the process of world multipolarisation and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind,” he wrote.

Xi´s arrival was broadcast on Russian state TV. The Kremlin had a day earlier praised Russia-China relations as a “genuine example” of cooperation and said they were “at their highest point”.