Beijing, Feb 4 (Reuters) – China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin praised their relations during a videoconference held on Wednesday, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Putin said that the relationship between Moscow and Beijing is an important stabilizing factor at a time of rising global turbulence, in a broadcast by Russian state television of the conversation.
Xi, speaking through an interpreter, asked the two countries to develop a ‘grand plan’ to deepen bilateral relations, which, he said, were moving in the right direction.
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China and Russia declared an unlimited strategic partnership days before Putin sent tens of thousands of soldiers to Ukraine in February 2022.
Since then, China has emerged as an economic lifeline for Russia, stepping up trade with its northern neighbor as Western powers imposed sanctions on Moscow.
Xi and Putin last met in Beijing when China staged a large military parade in September, which also featured North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
During that meeting, Xi said that China-Russia relations ‘have withstood international turbulence’ and promised to coordinate with Moscow on issues related to their core interests.
Ukraine and Europe accused Beijing of providing direct military assistance to Russia’s war efforts. Beijing denies the accusations and says it is not a party to the conflict.
Senior diplomats from the two countries met in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss the global security situation and other issues and reached a broad consensus, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Dmitry Antonov and Vladimir Soldatkin, in Moscow)
