Above photo: AP.
The leaders said China–Russia ties are at an ‘all-time high’.
And ‘colonial-era efforts’ to impose interests on the world have failed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to deepen strategic coordination, expand economic cooperation, and push against western dominance in global affairs during talks in Beijing on 20 May.
Putin said Moscow and Beijing would keep coordinating positions in the G20, World Trade Organization (WTO), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and New Development Bank.
“Of course, we will continue to closely coordinate our positions,” Putin said, adding that both sides aim to align the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Xi said China–Russia ties are “in line with the demands of time” and have reached an “all-time high” in their “all-encompassing partnership and strategic interaction.”
“We will move forward steadily, confidently, and relentlessly, achieving new great heights,” Xi said after the talks at the Great Hall of the People.
Putin said cooperation between Moscow and Beijing has kept “strong momentum” despite “unfavorable external factors.”
“The comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China in the new era is a model for intergovernmental relations in the modern world,” Putin said.
Xi described the relationship as “unyielding,” saying both sides had deepened “political mutual trust and strategic coordination.”
The two leaders also discussed the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Xi saying, “A comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency, resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable, and maintaining negotiations is particularly important.”
A joint Kremlin statement later warned of “a danger of fragmentation of the international community and a return to the ‘law of the jungle.’”
The statement added that “Attempts by a number of states to unilaterally manage global affairs, impose their interests on the entire world, and limit the sovereign development of other countries, in the spirit of the colonial era, have failed.”
Energy was also central to the talks, with Putin calling it the “driving force of economic cooperation,” even though the two sides reached only a “basic understanding” on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, with no clear timeline for construction.
The meeting came days after US President Donald Trump concluded a visit to China, where he also held talks with Xi.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that Trump’s Beijing visit highlighted the uneasy balance between public warmth and deep rivalry in US–China ties, with Trump praising Xi as a “friend” while disputes over trade, military ambitions, Iran, tariffs, and Beijing’s ties with Russia and North Korea continue to strain relations.
The report frames the summit as heavy on symbolism but shaped by mistrust, noting that Xi views the US as China’s main systemic rival, and that Trump often downplays Chinese moves as pragmatic rather than personal.
During the visit, Xi and Trump discussed US–China ties, Hormuz, energy, and Taiwan. The Chinese president urged a “new vision” based on cooperation, but warned that mishandling Taiwan could push the relationship into “great jeopardy.”
