Hong Kong
CNN
—
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement “further deepening” their partnership following talks in Moscow Thursday – a show of solidarity in the face of global uncertainties unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s “America First” diplomacy.
Seated together in an ornate room in the Kremlin following roughly four hours of talks, the two leaders inked what Chinese state media said was a “joint statement on further deepening China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.” Putin and Xi typically release lengthy and wide-ranging joint statements following their regular meetings.
In remarks afterward, both leaders looked to frame their relationship as a key force for defending and improving the world order – contrary to Western characterizations of the partnership and even as Russia continues its brutal, years-long invasion of Ukraine.
“In today’s challenging geopolitical situation and global uncertainty, the Russia-China foreign policy partnership is a key stabilizing factor on the international stage,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin readout. “Together, we defend the formation of a more just and democratic multipolar world order.”
Speaking after Putin, Xi described the two countries as “stable, positive, and progressive forces in the international community” and called for them to work together to “lead global governance in the right direction, and promote inclusive economic globalization that benefits all” – comments that come as the US has exited several United Nations bodies and roiled markets with threats of a global trade war.
Earlier in the day, Xi employed language typically used by Beijing to criticize Washington, saying Russia and China had “special responsibilities” in the face of “an international countercurrent of unilateralism and the hegemonic practices of the powerful.”
Xi arrived Wednesday for a four-day state visit to Russia, where he’ll top a list of foreign leaders attending Putin’s heavily choreographed Victory Day military parade, which is taking place in the shadow of Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine. This year’s events mark 80 years since the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, which ended World War II.
The visit takes place amid uncertainty for countries around the world as the Trump administration upends traditional US foreign policy, while China and Russia – who have significantly tightened their ties in recent years – have both also seen substantial changes in their respective relationships with Washington.
The US and China are mired in an escalated trade war, sparked by Trump’s heavy tariffs on the world’s second-largest economy. Moscow, meanwhile, has found a more sympathetic America under Trump than it did during Joe Biden’s presidency, but is now warily eying recently warming ties between Washington and Kyiv.
‘Composed and confident’
Despite this shifting landscape, both leaders appeared keen to project their unity in their meeting.
Ahead of Xi’s arrival, Putin referred to him as his “main guest” at the Victory Day events. The Russian leader on Thursday morning welcomed Xi with ceremony to the Kremlin, where the two shook hands in a cavernous hall before posing for photos flanked by oversized Chinese and Russian flags.
During opening remarks, each referred to the other as a “friend,” while Xi described their relationship as “composed and confident, stable and resilient.”
The two leaders have met more than 40 times over the past decade as they steadily strengthened their partnership in recent years in the face of shared tensions with the West.
Putin said the two leaders had in Thursday’s joint statement set out “ambitious goals,” highlighting their deepening economic and technological ties and plans to ensure “significant qualitative advancement of Russian-Chinese trade and investment by 2030.”
“Daily work continues to maintain positive trade dynamics,” Putin said, adding that Russia has become the world’s leading importer of Chinese automobiles. “At the same time, we welcome the establishment of manufacturing and the transfer of Chinese industrial expertise to our country,” he said.
The two countries reached record trade last year, as China emerged as a key economic lifeline for a sanctions-strapped Russia as it wages war on Ukraine. Western leaders have accused China of powering Russia’s offensive with dual-use exports, a charge Beijing denies.
The Russian market has become even more important for Chinese exporters, however, as they scramble to expand business in other markets after Trump’s imposition of heavy tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the US.
Xi said the two countries’ pact “injected new momentum into the development of China-Russia relations” and praised the “leap forward” in those relations over the past decade, despite “great turbulence and changes in the international situation.”
As they concluded talks, the two sides also signed over 20 documents, covering areas such as global stability, maintaining the authority of international law, biosecurity, investment protection, digital economy, quarantine inspection, and film cooperation.
The meeting takes place hours after a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine — unilaterally declared by Putin last month — came into effect, coinciding with the parade. Russian state news agency Tass said the ceasefire began at midnight local time on Wednesday (5 p.m. ET Wednesday).
However, Ukraine’s air force claimed that, overnight, Russia launched guided bombs over the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine. CNN could not independently verify the claim.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned dignitaries traveling to the event that Kyiv “cannot be responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation,” amid the ongoing conflict, a statement the Kremlin said amounted to a threat.
Ukraine has launched multiple drone attacks on Moscow over the course of the war, including in recent days, prompting temporary closures of airports in the capital for several hours. Ukraine says its attacks are in response to Russia’s continued assault on Ukrainian territory, including residential areas and energy infrastructure.
More than two dozen leaders are expected to gather in the Russian capital for the Victory Day celebrations, while troops from 13 countries will march in the parade, according to the Kremlin. Leaders expected to attend include Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Belarussian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The gathering, a key chance for Putin to project himself as a global power player, takes place amid an increasingly contentious global backdrop, including tensions between India and Pakistan which threaten to spiral into a full-blown conflict.
Russia’s May 9 Victory Day is one of the country’s largest celebrations. It marks Nazi Germany’s 1945 surrender to the Soviet Union, a day which has become increasingly important under Putin, who has falsely claimed his war in Ukraine is a “denazification.” In recent years the parade has seen a diminished supply of military hardware, as Russian tanks are instead mobilized on that war’s front lines.
Europe celebrates its VE Day, marking Germany’s surrender on all fronts, on Thursday.
