With the personal tone that characterizes each meeting of their leaders, Russia and China asserted this Thursday in the Grand Kremlin Palace their right to strengthen relations for mutual benefit, regardless of the pressures and threats of sanctions from Washington, which is clearly evident from the two joint statements – on global strategic stability and strengthening bilateral ties – signed by the host, Vladimir Putin, and the guest, Xi Jinping. During the signing ceremony in the Malachite Room of the Kremlin, broadcast live by the Rossiya-24 channel, Putin emphasized that the relations between Moscow and Beijing are at the highest level in their history: they are self-sufficient and do not depend on internal political factors or the current global situation.
The president of Russia, after noting that the heroic common past and the brotherhood of combat are a reliable foundation for promoting and strengthening bilateral ties, emphasized that this strategic partnership and global cooperation are based on the inviolable principles of equality of rights, mutual assistance and support, and the unbreakable friendship of the two peoples and states.
For the head of the Kremlin, both countries have coinciding or very close positions on the main points of the international agenda and practice an independent foreign policy that seeks to contribute to creating a fairer and more democratic multipolar order.
The Chinese leader emphasized that both countries, as a positive and advanced factor of stabilization in the global community, must stand shoulder to shoulder in the resolute defense of the global order based on the system of international relations of the United Nations and international law, and always contribute to a multilateral world that is equal for all.
He stressed: It is important to continue being the driving force in global management through mutual support.Xi believes that the right to decide the future of the planet and to distribute the achievements of global development belongs equally to all countries of the world. In that sense, China and Russia, as major powers with emerging markets, take on the noble mission of ensuring that global development occurs in the fairest and most rational way.
The Asian giant –as stated in one of the documents signed by Putin and Xi– supports its neighbor’s efforts to ensure security and stability, national development and prosperity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and opposes external interference in Russia’s internal affairs.
Meanwhile, Moscow reaffirms its commitment to the one China principle, opposes Taiwan’s independence in any form, and strongly supports the Chinese government’s actions to protect its own sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to unify the country.
Regarding Ukraine, Moscow appreciates Beijing’s objective and impartial position on the Ukraine crisis and welcomes China’s desire to play a constructive role in its resolution through political and diplomatic means.
For sustainable peace
Putin and Xi are convinced that for a lasting and sustainable solution to the Ukraine crisis, it is necessary to eliminate its root causes, fully respecting the principles of the United Nations Charter in their entirety, integrity, and interrelationship, as well as the principle of the indivisibility of security, taking into account the interests and concerns of all states regarding security.
Russia and China condemn the extremely negative impact that the attempts by the United States and its allies to expand NATO’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region, to form narrow composition blocks there, and to engage the countries in the region in the implementation of their Indo-Pacific strategies have on stability in the region.
The two countries propose to «abandon the Cold War mentality» and resolve controversies through equitable dialogue and respectful consultations, as well as to foster trust to exclude dangerous miscalculations and refrain from actions that create strategic risks.
In the economic sphere, Moscow and Beijing agreed to continue strengthening the comprehensive energy partnership, which entails supporting economic operators from both sides in establishing projects in areas such as oil, gas, both natural and liquefied, peaceful nuclear energy, coal, electricity, and renewable energies.
They decided to increase the level of financial interaction, in other words, to intensify ties between banks, expand the use of the ruble and the yuan in payments, and facilitate processes regarding insurance and rating agencies.
The conversations between Putin and Xi, who will stay in Moscow to attend the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people over German Nazism, lasted seven and a half hours – face to face, in an expanded format with their respective delegations and even during a break for tea in a relaxed atmosphere – and they also attended the signing ceremony of an intergovernmental agreement for investment protection and 25 other agreements and memorandums of intent between Russian and Chinese institutions.
Although in the first eight hours since the ceasefire announced by Russian leader Vladimir Putin came into effect for three days for Victory Day, which was rejected by his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, accusations of not respecting the non-agreed truce arose. They claimed that they were only responding to the enemy. The Russian military command reported up to that moment 488 violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian army, and in turn, the latter reported 586 attacks against its positions, with 176 drones, 10 air incursions, and 16 guided bombs in the border regions. Meanwhile, heads of state from 27 countries continue to arrive in Moscow to attend the grand military parade today in Red Square and other activities for the 80th anniversary.
The Russian capital, amidst strict security measures and due to the logistics of such a significant event, is experiencing days with airports overwhelmed for hours, significant delays and flight cancellations, severe mobility restrictions, and blocking of cell phone service and Internet, primarily in the urban center where the main events take place, which can indeed be comfortably watched on television.