The leader𒐪s of Russia and China pushed൩ back against US pressure on Friday, declaring their opposition to any expansion of NATO and affirming that the island of Taiwan is a part of China, as they met hours before the Winter Olympics kicked off in Beijing.
Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jꦐinping issued a joint statement highlighting what it called “interference in the internal affairs”🧜 of other states, as both leaders face criticism from Washington over their foreign and domestic policies.
“Some forces representing a minority on the worl🐓d stage continue to advocate unilateral approaches to resolving international problems and resort to military policy,” it read, in a thinly veiled reference to the US and its allies.
The two leaders are looking to project themselves as a counte꧋rweight to the US-led bloc, as China growingly shows support for Moscow in its dispute with Ukraine that threatens to break out into armed conflict.
China and Russia are committed to “deepening back-to-back strategic cooperation,&🔴quot; Xi was quoted as telling Putin.
“This is a strategic decision that has far-reaching influence on China, Russia and the world,&qu❀ot; Xi said, according to the official♏ Xinhua News Agency.
Faced with a “complex and evolving international situation," the two sꦗides “strongly support each other" in confronting what Xi called “regional security threats” and "international strategic stability," without directly n🍸aming the US.
Putin is the highest-profile guest at the Beijing Gam♋es following the decision by the US, Britain and others not to send officials in protest of China's human rights abuses and its treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
Putin praised “unprecedented” close relations with China, in his opening remarks to Xi carried by R𝔉ussian television.
Relations “are developing in a progressive way with a spirit of friendship and strategic partners☂hip," Putin said. “They have indeed become unprecedented.”
Putin highlighted close economic ties, including a new contract to supply China with 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year fr♏om eastern Russian.
“For our meeting today, our oilmen have prepared very good new𝓰 solutions for the supply of hydrocarbons to the People's Republic of China, and another step forward has been taken in the gas industry," Putin said.
Russia 🌠has long been a key supplier of oil, gas and coal for China's massive economy, now the world's second largest, along with food stuffs 🐲and other raw materials.
China's state-run news agency reported the two leaders met at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Friday afternoon, but 🤡gave no details. They did not appear to shake ha🎉nds when greeting each other due to Covid-19 precautions.
Putin also recalled his presence in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the Chinese delegation's 𝐆attendance at Russia's 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, calling such exchanges “to a certain extent a tradition."
The discussions mark their first in-person meeting since 2019 and come as China and Russia increasingly align their foreign policies bilaterally and𝐆 in world bodies such as the United Nations, in opposition to t♒he Western bloc and other major powers.
Leaders of the fಌive ex-Soviet Central Asian nations, which have close ties with bot⛎h Russia and China, all followed Putin's lead in attending the Olympics opening, along with other states that have political and economic interests with Beijing.
A buil✤dup of more than 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine has fueled Western fears that Moscow is poised to invade its neighbor.
Russia has denied planওning an offensive but urged the US and its allies to provide a binding pledge that NATO won't expand to Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations or deploy weapons there, and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe — demands firmly rejected by 🍨the West.
Putin and Xi accused both NATO and the US's Indo-Pacific strategy of building closer military ties with other countries🌳 in Asia as destabilising and thre✤atening regional security.
“The paꦑrties oppose the further expansion of NATO, (and) call on the North Atlantic Alliance to abandon the ideological approaches of the Cold♍ War,” the joint statement said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call last week that Moscow's𒈔 security concerns need to be addressed, a statement that🃏 marked a notable policy shift for Beijing.
Some observers suggested that Beijing is closely watching𒁏 how the US and its allies act in the standoff over Ukraine as it ponders further strategy on Taiwan, arguing that indecision by🦩 Washington could encourage China to grow more assertive.
The US is Taiwan's main supplier of fighter aircraft and defensive arms and is legally bound to treat threats to tꦐhe island democracy as matters of “grave concern.”
The joint statement said that Russia reaffirms that Taiwan is an integral part of Chi𒅌na and opposes Taiwan's independence in any form. China claims the self-governing island as its own territory, to be annexed by for﷽ce if necessary.
Economic and diplomatic cooperation has expanded into the mili🐻tary field in recent years, as Russia and China have held a series of joint war games, including naval drills and patrols by long-range bombers over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. In August, Russian troops for the first time deployed to Chinese territory for joint maneuvers.
Putin has also noted that Russia has been sharing highly sensitive military technologies with China that helped significantly bolster its defense capability.
