Strongmen assemble: Putin, Kim and Xi in Beijing – podcast

It has been a historic week of diplomacy in China. As senior China correspondent Amy Hawkins explains, it started on Sunday, with more than 20 heads of state attending the opening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Among them were strongmen from across Europe and Asia: presidents Putin of Russia, Erdoğan of Turkey, Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Lukashenko of Belarus and many others. Yet it was not just an array of autocrats – India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, also came to the summit, openly warm to both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.…

Hot mic catches Putin and Xi discussing organ transplants and immortality – video

The authoritarian leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping mused on how organ transplants might lead to immortality during a brief exchange of small talk caught on a hot mic on Wednesday. The Russian president was in Beijing as a guest at a huge military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war The Guardian

Xi Jinping says world faces ‘peace or war’, as Putin and Kim join him for military parade

Xi Jinping said the world was facing a choice between peace or war as he held China’s largest-ever military parade, joined by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un in a show of defiance to the west. Putin and Kim, the authoritarian leaders of Russia and North Korea, were among dozens of world leaders who attended the parade, a massive display of military hardware and personnel, orchestrated to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. “Today, humanity…

‘He should come to Moscow,’ Putin says about peace talks with Zelenskyy – video

Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he would meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Moscow if the Ukrainian leader was ready. ‘It’s possible, I never rejected it, if this meeting is well-prepared and will lead to some positive, possible results,’ the Russian president said at a news conference after attending a big military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of world war two The Guardian

Xi, Putin and Kim: behind the choreographed image that could symbolise a shift in the global balance of power

It is an image that, had it been published just a few years ago, would have been dismissed as a piece of mischievous photo-shopping: the leaders of Russia and China, accompanied by the head of a pariah regime whose mission to arm his country with nuclear weapons had been opposed at the United Nations by his two companions. But dramatic shifts in the geopolitical landscape – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, crucially, the re-election of Donald Trump – have combined to bring Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader…

Trump’s belligerence is pushing Xi, Putin and Kim together – and tearing the old world order apart | Simon Tisdall

Donald Trump’s first reaction to the disconcerting spectacle of China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un marching side-by-side at a huge military parade in Beijing was, predictably, all about him. This show of solidarity and strength, he complained, was nothing less than an attempt to “conspire” against the United States. Trump likes military parades – his own, that is. Even more, he likes to be on the podium, at the centre of attention. He casts himself as world number one. The images coming out of the…

Hot mic catches Putin and Xi discussing organ transplants and immortality

The authoritarian strongmen Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have mused on how organ transplants might lead to immortality, during a brief exchange of small talk caught on a hot mic at a military parade. The Russian president was in Beijing on Wednesday with the Chinese leader, who hosted allies for a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war. As Putin and Xi walked at the head of a delegation of foreign leaders, state media aired live footage that captured parts of what appeared…

Military reveals and bold messaging: five key takeaways from China’s big parade

Xi Jinping presided over China’s largest-ever military parade, orchestrated to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The event caps off a big week of diplomacy for China’s leader, coming just days after the Chinese city of Tianjin hosted a major summit for leaders of the global south. Who was there Dozens of world leaders – mostly from non-western nations – attended the event, but it was the grand entrance of Xi Jinping accompanied by…

Daniel Andrews attends China military parade, poses with Kim Jong-Un and Vladimir Putin

Daniel Andrews has posed alongside North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un and Russian president Vladimir Putin at a military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The former Victorian Labor premier stood several rows behind the North Korean semi-recluse (who is facing complaints of alleged crimes against humanity) during the photo opportunity for of leaders from the so-called “the axis of upheaval”. In the photo, distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Putin stands to Chinese president Xi Jinping’s right, with Jong-un to Xi’s left, and Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan in between. The group…

China victory day parade live: Xi, Putin and Kim Jong-un appear together as Trump accuses them of conspiring against US

From 2h ago Xi, Kim, Putin appear together The leaders of China, Russia and North Korea have been photographed walking to the parade together. It is a striking image, that has been beamed onto large screens in Beijing. Xi Jinping (C) walks alongside Russia’s president Vladimir Putin (centre L) and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un (centre R). Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images Share Updated at 22.23 EDT <gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"68b79c518f08bb514e0fadea","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Xi Jinping’s short speech praised the “huge national sacrifice” of the Chinese people in fighting the war, but it also…