ASIATODAY.ID, BEIJING – The close ties between Russia and China should not be viewed as a threat against any other country, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said as he arrived in Beijing on Thursday.
The Russian leader made his comments during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trip is Putin’s first foreign visit since he was sworn in for a fifth presidential term earlier this month.
“It is absolutely crucial that Russian-Chinese relations are not ad hoc contacts and are not aimed against anyone,” Putin said.
“Our cooperation in world affairs is one of the main stabilizing factors on the international stage. Together, we defend the principles of fairness and the democratic world order based on the multipolar realities and international law.”
Putin’s visit comes amid tensions between NATO on one side and Russia and China on the other, with Western governments accusing Moscow and Beijing of aggression and coercion.
Russia and China are facing increasing pressure from the West over the conflict in Ukraine and Beijing’s activities in the Indo Pacific. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg recently described China as “the main country that is enabling Russia to conduct its war of aggression.”
China has refused to blame Russia for the Ukraine crisis and has instead argued that the continuing expansion of NATO and Washington’s “Cold-War mentality” are the root causes of the escalation.
Beijing has repeatedly rejected Western pressure to join the sanctions against Russia, calling them unilateral and illegitimate. “Fueling the flames while shifting blame to others, this is just hypocritical and highly irresponsible,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said last month.
In a statement on Thursday, the ministry further stressed that good relations with Moscow are “conducive to peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world at large.”
China strong enough to withstand Western pressure
China is too strong to be influenced by “brazen” Western attempts to force it to limit its cooperation with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Izvestia on Thursday.
Peskov was speaking as Russian President Vladimir Putin began a two-day visit to China. The trip is Putin’s first visit abroad since he was inaugurated for a fifth term as president earlier this month. He met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Thursday and will attend the opening of the 8th Russia-China EXPO in the city of Harbin, as well as the 4th Russia-China Forum on Interregional Cooperation.
Peskov called the expo “a substantive dialogue,” adding that a large number of Russian regions will be represented and describing it as vital for the development of Russia’s Far East and China’s border provinces. “It’s one of the most important elements of our trade and economic cooperation, which is very multifaceted,” the spokesman stated.
“There are some problems,” Peskov admitted, but “they are more growth problems.”
The spokesman added that the US and its allies have attempted “to quite brazenly try and put pressure on China in order to limit China’s maneuvers to cooperate” with Russia.
“The Chinese are strong enough to withstand this pressure,” Peskov argued, referring to restrictions imposed by the US against Chinese companies that are accused of supplying items used by the Russian military in the Ukraine conflict.
China insists that it has followed an objective and fair position on the Ukraine conflict. It has advocated the promotion of peace talks, and has condemned Western sanctions against Chinese companies. Beijing has also said it does not provide lethal weapons to conflict areas or warring parties. (RT/AT Network)
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