Putin and Xi meet in Beijing, issue first joint statements
Photo: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Today, September 2, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin are holding bilateral talks in Beijing. There have been no statements about the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters, CNN, and Bloomberg.
Putin thanked Xi for the warm welcome, called him a "dear friend," and said that relations between Russia and China are at an "unprecedentedly high level."
He also mentioned the Soviet-Chinese "brotherhood in arms" during World War II, emphasizing the trust and mutual support between the two countries.
Xi Jinping, in turn, called Putin an "old friend" and said that China is ready to cooperate with Russia for development, support for international justice, and the creation of a "just and reasonable global governance system."
During the talks, the leaders did not make any direct statements about the war in Ukraine, although the meeting is seen as a demonstration of solidarity between Moscow and Beijing amid pressure from the West.
According to Bloomberg, without naming specific countries, Xi Jinping called on the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) countries to "oppose the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and bullying practices" — a veiled reference to what Beijing considers to be US tactics in the trade war.
"At the summit, Xi also secured an agreement from partner countries to set up a new development bank. While China gave no further details on the institution, the agreement marks a win for Beijing, which had sought to create such a bank since as early as 2010," the publication writes.
China Central Television reports that China and Russia have signed more than 20 documents on cooperation in energy, artificial intelligence, and other areas.
At the same time, there is no mention of discussions about the war in Ukraine or the summit in Alaska in the statement published by Chinese TV following the meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping.
Putin's visit to China
Vladimir Putin is on a multi-day visit to China, the final part of which will be his attendance at a large-scale military parade in Beijing dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Putin said that the war against Ukraine was allegedly not started by Russia's attack and will continue until, in his words, the root causes are eliminated.
In China, Turkish President Recep Erdogan and the Kremlin leader discussed Ukraine and a possible Putin's visit to Türkiye.
In addition, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Putin to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible on the sidelines of the summit.
