Putin’s two-day charm offensive with Xi underlines who’s boss

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin raise their glasses at a reception in the Kremlin. Photograph: SPUTNIK/Reuters

Standing alongside Xi Jinping in the 15th-century Chamber of Facets, one of the most historic ceremonial venues at the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin raised his glass of white wine.

He proceeded to make a toast to the “health of our great friend Xi and the deepening of the Russian-Chinese partnership”, before ending his speech with the phrase ganbei, Chinese for “empty glass”.