Xi calls Russia ties priority on Moscow trip

Chinese president said he invited internationally isolated Putin to visit China later this year as both leaders seek an alliance to counteract Western power

MOSCOW-Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China would prioritise ties with Russia, calling the two “great neighbouring powers” as he prepared for a second day of talks with Vladimir Putin expected to focus on Ukraine. The Chinese president also said he invited the internationally isolated Putin to visit China later this year as both leaders seek an alliance to counteract Western power. Beijing and Moscow’s trade ties have boomed since Russia’s Ukraine campaign, linking the nations more closely and raising worries in Western capitals over how far the ties will go.
Xi said China’s government would “continue to prioritise the all-round strategic partnership between China and Russia”.
“We are great neighbouring powers,” he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying during a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Xi’s trip coincides with a surprise visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Kyiv on Tuesday where he is expected to meet Putin’s nemesis Volodymyr Zelensky. Xi’s visit to Moscow has been viewed as a major boost for Putin, who is under Western sanctions and subject to an International Criminal Court warrant over accusations of “unlawfully” deporting Ukrainian children.
On Monday, Xi and Putin held four and a half hours of talks, calling each other “dear friends.” In a rare move, Putin escorted Xi to his car after the talks, and the two were seen smiling together.
During the meeting, the Russian leader said he was open to talks on Ukraine and praised Beijing’s 12-point position paper on the conflict, which includes a call for dialogue and respect for all countries’ territorial sovereignty. Xi and Putin are also expected to discuss boosting economic cooperation as Russia boosts energy exports to China after being mostly shut out of European markets. Ahead of the talks, Russian gas giant Gazprom said that supplies through the Power of Siberia pipeline to China had reached a daily record on Monday. Xi’s three-day visit began a day after Putin travelled to Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, his first trip to territory captured from Kyiv since the start of the assault in February 2022. Xi, Putin begin talks at Kremlin with Ukraine on agenda
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived at the Kremlin on Tuesday for formal talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the Ukraine conflict a closely-watched matter on the agenda.
Xi entered the Kremlin on a red carpet and was greeted by a military band and a delegation of senior Russian officials including Putin, as both nations seek allies to counteract Western power.
The Kremlin has said the two leaders would discuss proposals put forward by China to end more than a year of fighting in Ukraine, and that the talks were likely to end with Xi and Putin signing a raft of agreements. Xi earlier met with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and hailed Russia and China as “great neighbouring powers” on the second day of his visit to Russia.
 Beijing and Moscow’s trade ties have boomed, linking the nations more closely.
, who said he had invited Putin to visit China this year, said China’s government would “continue to prioritise the all-round strategic partnership between China and Russia”.
                  “We are great neighbouring powers,” he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying during a meeting with Mishustin.

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Xi calls Russia ties priority on Moscow trip

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