The Chinese leader assured that he was willing to work “for global peace and stability”, in a message sent to his Russian counterpart with whom he exchanged congratulations on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.
In the message to Vladimir Putin, cited by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, Xi Jinping emphasized that the collaboration between Beijing and Moscow “did not only benefit the Chinese and Russian people”. The anniversary “is an opportunity” to continue “strive to make new contributions to maintaining global stability and peace,” said the Chinese leader.
Xi highlighted the progress made in the last decade, in which “political and economic ties between China and Russia have strengthened mutual trust and achieved concrete results in various areas of cooperation.” The Chinese leader emphasized the role of China and Russia in “promoting a more equitable multipolar world and inclusive economic globalization.”
For his part, Putin recalled that the former Soviet Union was the first country to recognize the People’s Republic of China, one day after its founding, on October 1, 1949. The Russian President stressed that relations between Russia and China “have stood the test of time” and are now “at their peak”, according to Xinhua.
Putin stressed that China and Russia “are committed to promoting a fairer and more balanced world order.” The Russian leader expressed confidence that the consensus reached with Xi in recent years “will promote security and stability on the Eurasian continent and on a global scale.”
In February 2022, shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Xi and Putin proclaimed in Beijing an “unlimited friendship” between the two nations. Since then, China and Russia have defended that their relationship “does not threaten any country” and that it “promotes the multipolarization of the world” in opposition to what they describe as the hegemony of the United States.
Beijing, which did not condemn the invasion of Ukraine and demonstrated an ambiguous position towards the conflict, denied having military ties with Russia, but requested the holding of a peace conference for Ukraine “recognized by all parties” to resume dialogue .
But the United States and the European Union regularly accuse China of offering Russia, the target of significant Western sanctions, crucial economic support for its war effort. In 2023, bilateral trade between China and Russia reached a record level.
Xi Jinping is expected to attend the BRICS summit in Kazan, western Russia, this month, where he is expected to meet with Vladimir Putin. With four members (Brazil, China, India and Russia) when it was created in 2009, the BRICS bloc accepted South Africa’s membership in 2010 and expanded this year to other emerging countries, including Egypt and Iran.
Source: expresso.pt
