What’s new: President Xi Jinping met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, where Eurasian leaders gathered for a regional security summit.
During the meeting on Wednesday, Xi said Beijing and Moscow should “strengthen comprehensive strategic coordination, oppose external interference and jointly maintain peace and stability in the region,” according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.
China supports Russia in fulfilling its duties as the rotating chair of the BRICS group, while uniting the Global South nations, preventing a “new Cold War” and “opposing illegal unilateral sanctions and hegemonism,” Xi added. The 16th BRICS Summit is due to take place in Kazakhstan late October.
Russia-China relations are “at the highest level in history,” said Putin, adding that Moscow will support Beijing in chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) annual leaders’ summit next year and promoting the development of the international system “in a more just and equitable direction,” according to the Chinese statement.
When discussing the war in Ukraine, Xi reiterated that Beijing adheres to promoting peace talks and is willing to make positive efforts for a political resolution of the crisis, the statement said.
The background: Xi and Putin met on the sidelines of this year’s SCO summit. The meeting was the second time the two leaders have met in less than two months, after Putin’s visit to China in May.
Since then, the Russian leader made his first trip to North Korea in 24 years last month, signing a mutual defense pact with Pyongyang, followed by a visit to Vietnam, as he seeks to strengthen partnerships around Asia.
Bloomberg contributed to the story.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
