Xi Jinping has criticised the “bullying behaviour” of other countries while Vladimir Putin has blamed the west for his war on Ukraine, on the second day of a major summit in China which seeks to challenge western-led multilateral blocs. The Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) began in the city of Tianjin on Sunday, with Xi welcoming dozens of leaders from Eurasian member states and other partner and observer countries, including Putin, and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. In a speech to delegates on Monday, Putin claimed the war was not triggered…
Tag: Vladimir Putin
China’s Victory day military parade: why are Putin and Kim Jong-un there, and what is the ‘axis of upheaval’?
On Wednesday, China is holding a military parade in the capital, Beijing, to mark 80 years since the end of the second world war. But it’s not just about the past, the parade says a lot about the forces reshaping the world today, and in the future. At the parade, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be flanked by the leaders of some of the world’s most heavily sanctioned nations – Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar – and a host of other leaders of the global south but notably almost…
Putin, Modi and Erdoğan among leaders in China for talks with Xi
The leaders of more than two dozen nations arrived in China on Sunday for a showpiece summit that seeks to challenge US-led, western-dominated blocs. Xi Jinping personally welcomed several leaders, including the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Xi is also expected to hold talks with Vladimir Putin, with whom he is closely allied under what they have termed a “limitless” partnership. The bilateral meetings are being held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin. The SCO is a…
Putin embarks on China visit with Ukraine war top of agenda
Vladimir Putin will travel to China this weekend for what the Kremlin has called a “truly unprecedented” visit to his most important ally, which comes at a crunch moment in talks over Ukraine. During the trip, which is expected to stretch to close to a week – unusually long for the Russian leader – he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, hold talks with Xi Jinping, and take in Beijing’s Victory Day military parade marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat in the second world war, where Putin is due…
India’s Modi to meet Xi and Putin on first China trip in seven years as US tariffs bite
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will land in China this weekend for his first visit in seven years – a trip that puts him in the company of Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin just as India’s ties with Washington have soured. Modi’s visit to Tianjin for a regional security summit comes days after the US doubled tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, citing New Delhi’s refusal to stop buying Russian oil. The row has upended years of deepening cooperation between India and the US, built on…
Putin and Kim to join Xi at Chinese military parade in show of defiance to the west
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are among the world leaders who will attend a military parade with President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week, in a show of collective defiance amid western pressure. No western leaders will be among the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week – with the exception of Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a member of the European Union – according to the Chinese foreign ministry. Against the backdrop of China’s growing military might during the Victory Day parade on…
Chinese troops march with Russian forces as Xi joins Putin for Victory Day parade
Russian troops fighting in Ukraine marched together with Chinese forces on Moscow’s Red Square to mark the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat, in a Victory Day celebration marked by greater spectacle than in recent years. After several scaled-back Victory Days – with reduced military displays and few foreign guests – Vladimir Putin on Friday addressed the largest parade since his 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “The Soviet Union took upon itself the most ferocious, merciless blows of the enemy,” the Russian president said of the victory over Nazi Germany,…
China and Russia pledge to deepen ties as they criticise US on Victory Day
China and Russia pledged to further deepen their already “no limits” partnership in a joint statement published ahead of Russia’s military parade on Friday, as the two sides stressed the importance of maintaining the “correct view” of second world war history. In a lengthy statement published during Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which Russia celebrates on 9 May as Victory Day, Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said “certain countries … are attempting to…
Xi hails ‘confident’ China-Russia ties as Putin welcomes ‘dear friend’ to Kremlin
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin exchanged warm words in the Kremlin on Thursday during a grand ceremony welcoming the Chinese leader for his 11th visit to Russia. Xi said the Sino-Russian relationship was “confident, stable and resilient” in the new era and that China was willing to work with Russia to promote a multipolar world. Putin described his Chinese counterpart as a “dear friend”, while Xi described Putin as his “old friend”. Xi said: “History and reality have fully proven that the continued development and deepening of China-Russia relations is…
Xi Jinping begins four-day Russia visit as Ukrainian drones attack Moscow
Xi Jinping has arrived in Moscow at the start of a four-day visit to attend Russia’s military parade commemorating the anniversary of the end of the second world war, known in Russia as Victory Day. The Chinese leader’s arrival coincided with Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital. Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said Russia’s air defence units destroyed at least 14 Ukrainian drones overnight. The attacks forced most of Moscow’s airports to close and Russia’s national carrier Aeroflot said it was reordering timetables to cope with the disruption. Xi’s visit,…