Washington:

NATO leaders on Wednesday said China’s deepening ties with Russia are a cause of “deep concern” and accused Beijing of playing a key role in helping Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.

China “has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine through its so-called ‘no limits’ partnership and its large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base,” NATO leaders said in a declaration from their summit in Washington.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Astana:

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday that relations between Beijing and Moscow were stronger than ever before.

The pair met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana — a regional political and economic bloc that the two leaders see as a counterweight to US “hegemony” in international affairs.

Putin hailed the group as “strengthening its role as one of the key pillars of a fair multipolar world order” in opening remarks of a meeting with Xi that were published on Russian state TV.

Alongside Russia and China, four Central Asian states, India, Iran and Pakistan are members of the SOC.

Beijing has become Moscow’s key political and economic partner since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a raft of Western sanctions.

“Russian-Chinese relations, our comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, are experiencing their best period in history,” Putin said. 

In his brief opening comments, Xi called Putin his “old friend” and said Sino-Russian relations were at a “high level.”

“In the face of the turbulent international situation and external environment, the two sides should continue to uphold the original aspiration of friendship for generations to come,” Xi said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on October 18, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised the “unprecedented” energy cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, as the Kremlin seeks to strengthen its Asian partnerships to make up for the loss of the European market.

Russia has been hit by massive Western sanctions over its Ukraine offensive, with Europe trying to end its energy links with Moscow.

Putin wrapped up a two-day visit to China on Thursday, his first outside the former Soviet Union this year.

“Relations in the overall partnership and strategic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Chinese People’s Republic have reached an unprecedented high level and continue to develop dynamically,” Putin said in a statement addressing a Russian-Chinese energy forum in Beijing.

“One of the key areas of this relationship is energy cooperation, which is becoming increasingly active,” he added.

The head of Russian oil company Rosneft, Igor Sechin, told the forum that “over 75 percent” of Russia’s exports to neighbouring China are energy linked.

“This year, Russian gas exports to China will reach a historic maximum — more than 30 billion cubic meters of gas will be delivered,” the Putin ally added.

Sechin said that Russia was China’s main oil supplier in 2023, overtaking Saudi Arabia.

Heavily sanctioned by the West — particularly in oil where the G7, the European Union and Australia have imposed a price ceiling on Russia’s exports — Moscow has for months tried to redirect deliveries to Asia, even if it means selling it at a discount.

Moscow hopes to start building the “Power of Siberia 2” pipeline from Russia to China next year, a huge project to deliver more natural gas to Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, Vladimir Putin shake hands during the Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that world conflicts “strengthen” his country’s relations with China, after talks with Xi Jinping that celebrated their nations’ deepening political and economic ties.

Mr. Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, met his “old friend” Mr. Xi in Beijing on the sidelines of a major forum in an event overshadowed by conflict in the Middle East.

At a press conference following the talks, Mr. Putin said that global turmoil served to bring China and Russia even closer together.

“All these outside factors are common threats and they strengthen Russian-Chinese cooperation,” he said.

The Russian leader also said he had “optimism” for the future of the relationship.

Mr. Xi, too, said that “political mutual trust between the two countries is continuously deepening”, according to Xinhua news agency, hailing their “close and effective strategic coordination”.

Mr. Xi noted that he had met with Mr. Putin 42 times in the past decade, saying they had “developed a good working relationship and a deep friendship”.

Mr. Putin was the guest of honour at the summit hosted by Mr. Xi in Beijing this week to celebrate his Belt and Road Initiative, a vast trade and infrastructure project.

International attention has been focused on the Israel-Gaza conflict, which has raged for more than 10 days, and both Russia and China condemned the Tuesday night strike on a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds.

Mr. Putin on Wednesday said the strike was a “tragedy” and showed the need to bring the conflict between Israel and Hamas to an end.

“This is a terrible event… I really hope that this will be a signal that this conflict needs to end as soon as possible,” he said.

China’s Foreign Ministry said it was “shocked by and strongly condemns” the strike, calling for an “immediate ceasefire”.

Earlier, Mr. Xi called for joint efforts by China and Russia to “safeguard international fairness” and “justice”, Xinhua reported.

China is Russia’s largest trading partner, with exchange between the nations reaching a record $190 billion last year, Beijing customs data shows.

And Mr. Xi said on Wednesday it was progressing towards a goal of $200 billion set by the two countries in bilateral meetings this year.

Beijing has drawn criticism from Western countries for its stance on the Ukraine war, on which China insists it is neutral. It has refused to criticise Moscow’s invasion.

Mr. Putin is on a mission to strengthen the already strong bond with his communist neighbour, though experts say Moscow is increasingly the junior partner in the relationship.

In his talks with Mr. Xi, he stressed the importance of “close coordination in foreign policy” in “the current difficult conditions”.

Representatives of 130 countries are in the Chinese capital for the two-day talking shop that wraps up on Wednesday.

Earlier, Mr. Xi said in a speech to the international delegates that his country rejected “economic coercion” and “bloc confrontation”.

In an apparent reference to China’s rivalry with the United States, Mr. Xi said Beijing would not engage in “ideological confrontation, geopolitical games or bloc confrontation”.

“We oppose unilateral sanctions, economic coercion, decoupling and delinking,” Mr. Xi told delegates.

“Viewing the development of others as a threat and economic interdependence as a risk will not make one’s own life any better or one’s own development any faster,” he said.

Instead, Mr. Xi said, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would seek to “inject new impetus into the global economy”.

He also pledged to inject more than $100 billion of new funding into BRI projects.

Mr. Putin then took to the stage, hailing the infrastructure initiative as a “success story”.

The United States has asked China to use its influence to help de-escalate the Israel-Hamas conflict, which erupted after the Palestinian militant group launched an attack in Israel, killing 1,400 people.

Israel then launched a devastating air campaign against Gaza, which has seen more than a million people in the blockaded territory flee their homes. About 3,000 Gazans have been killed since Israel launched its air campaign, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

China, which brokered a detente between key Hamas backer Iran and its regional foe Saudi Arabia this year, said it would send its Middle East envoy Zhai Jun to the volatile region this week.

No details have been given about where or when exactly Mr. Zhai would travel, though CCTV has said he will push for a ceasefire and peace talks.

Russia, which has traditionally maintained good relations with both Israeli and Palestinian authorities, has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the conflict.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Relations between Russia and China have reached an unprecedented historical level, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with China’s Deputy Premier Zhang Guoqing on September 12, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported.

“Relations between Russia and China have reached an absolutely unprecedented historical level in recent years,” RIA cited Mr. Putin as saying.

“We will together continue this work further.”