Russia and China

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praises the "unprecedented" energy cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, as the Kremlin seeks to strengthen its Asian partnerships to make up for the loss of the European market.  

Russia has been hit by massive Western sanctions over its Ukraine offensive, with Europe trying to end its energy links with Moscow. 

Putin wrapped up a two-day visit to China on Thursday, his first outside the former Soviet Union this year. — AFP  

China says it supported Russia in "protecting national stability", in Beijing's first official remarks on a short-lived armed uprising led by the head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"As a friendly neighbour and a new era comprehensive strategic cooperative partner, China supports Russia in protecting national stability and achieving development and prosperity," the foreign ministry says in a statement.

The issue was Russia's "internal affair", the ministry adds. — AFP

China and Russia conduct joint air force patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea on Tuesday, as South Korea said it had deployed fighter jets in response to warplanes near its airspace.

Beijing and Moscow "staged the sixth joint aerial patrol in accordance with an annual military cooperation plan between China and Russia", the Chinese defence ministry says in a statement.

The statement gave no further details of the manoeuvres, which took place over waters bordering Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan. — AFP

China and Russia conducted joint air force patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea on Tuesday, as South Korea said it had deployed fighter jets in response to warplanes near its airspace.

Beijing and Moscow "staged the sixth joint aerial patrol in accordance with an annual military cooperation plan between China and Russia", the Chinese defence ministry said in a statement.

The statement gave no further details of the manoeuvres, which took place over waters bordering Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan. — AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping offers Beijing's support on Moscow's "core interests" at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

China and Russia have in recent years ramped up economic and diplomatic cooperation, growing even closer since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine despite Beijing's insistence that it is neutral in that conflict.

Mishustin's trip this week is the highest-level visit by a Russian official to China since last year's invasion of Ukraine. — AFP

China's premier on Wednesday hailed the "strategic cooperative partnership" between Beijing and Moscow as he hosted the Russian prime minister, with the two sides expected to sign a number of economic and infrastructure deals.

The two nations have in recent years ramped up economic and diplomatic cooperation, and have grown closer since Russia invaded Ukraine despite China's insistence that it is neutral in that conflict.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived in China on Monday, attending a business forum in Shanghai on Tuesday before travelling to Beijing to meet Premier Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping.

"Under the strategic leadership of our two heads of state, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia in the new era has always been maintained at a high level," Li told Mishustin after a grand welcoming ceremony outside Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Wednesday.

"I believe your trip to China this time will definitely leave a deep impression." — AFP

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has arrived in China, Moscow's foreign ministry said, for a visit in which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and ink a series of deals on infrastructure and trade.

Mishustin arrived late Monday in Shanghai, the ministry said, where he was greeted at the airport by Moscow's ambassador to China Igor Morgulov and Beijing's top diplomat to Russia Zhang Hanhui.

He will take part in a Russian-Chinese Business Forum and visit a petrochemical research institute in Shanghai, the Kremlin said, as well as hold talks with "representatives of Russian business circles".

That forum has invited a number of sanctioned Russian tycoons -- including from the key fertiliser, steel and mining sectors -- as well as Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who handles energy issues, Bloomberg reported. — AFP

China's defence minister Li Shangfu said Tuesday his trip to Moscow was aimed at demonstrating Beijing's "determination" to strengthen strategic ties with Russia.

During a meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, Li said his first overseas visit since taking over as China's defence minister was aimed at demonstrating Beijing's "firm determination to strengthen the strategic cooperation between the armed forces of China and Russia," Russian news agencies reported. — AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the "very high level" of military drills in the Pacific as Moscow seeks closer ties with China amid a stand-off with the West.

The surprise drills announced last week come as Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu is in Russia on a visit which will last until Wednesday.

Putin received Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Moscow for a summit showing the nations' united front against the West. 

During a meeting with Putin and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Sunday, Li hailed ties with Moscow, saying they "surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War era". — AFP

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu has hailed ties with Moscow during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. 

"We have very strong ties. They surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War era... They are very stable," he says in translated remarks broadcast on Russian TV. 

He adds that Russia-China ties have "already entered a new era".

"This is my first overseas visit since taking over as China's defense minister. I specifically chose Russia for this in order to emphasize the special nature and strategic importance of our bilateral ties," Li says. — AFP 

China's defense minister will visit Russia from April 16 to 19, a government statement says.

"At the invitation of Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Defence Minister Li Shangfu will pay an official visit to Russia from April 16 to 19," the defence ministry says. — AFP

The Kremlin has shrugged off the West's "hostile" reaction to the summit between President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"As for the reaction of the collective West, the fact that on all issues this reaction took on an unfriendly and hostile nature is not news to anyone," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says. — AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that he had invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to visit China this year, ahead of a second round of talks between the two leaders in Moscow, Russian news agencies report.

"Yesterday I invited President Putin to visit China this year at a time that is convenient for him," Xi says at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. — AFP

Russian news agencies say Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping concluded several hours of informal talks in Moscow.

State news agency RIA Novosti says the talks between the leaders of Russia and China lasted four and a half hours. The two are set to meet again for formal talks on Tuesday. — AFP

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have applauded the solidity of their alliance as the Chinese leader headed to Moscow for a summit with the internationally isolated Russian president.

Xi described his trip as a "journey of friendship, cooperation and peace", though China has been criticised by Western nations for what they consider tacit backing and diplomatic cover for Russia's war in Ukraine.

"I look forward to working with President Putin to jointly adopt a new vision" for relations, Xi wrote in a signed article in the newspaper Russian Gazette that was also carried by Chinese state news agency Xinhua. — AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia next week, Beijing's foreign ministry said Friday, his first trip to Moscow in nearly four years.

"At the invitation of President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22," the ministry said in a statement.

Xi last visited Russia in 2019, though Putin attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing last year and the two leaders also met at a regional security gathering in Uzbekistan in September.

The pair will talk about "strategic cooperation", according to a near-simultaneous statement from the Kremlin. -- AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates Xi Jinping on his third term as China's leader, hailing the strengthening ties between the two countries.

"Dear friend, please accept sincere congratulations on the occasion of your reelection," Putin says in a statement released by the Kremlin.

"Russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties... and strategic cooperation between our nations."

"I am certain that working together, we will ensure the development of fruitful Russian-Chinese cooperation in all sorts of different areas. We will continue to coordinate joint work on the most important regional and international issues." — AFP

China wants to deepen its relations with Russia and supports it fully, the foreign minister said Thursday in another display of Beijing avoiding criticism of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

China and Russia had a tumultuous relationship during the Cold War but have grown closer in recent years as they worked to counter the United States.

On Thursday Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated Beijing's backing of Russia, despite Western criticism over the war.

"China will also firmly support the Russian side, under the leadership of President (Vladimir) Putin, to unite and lead the Russian people to overcome difficulties and eliminate disturbances," Wang said in a call with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, according to state broadcaster CCTV. — AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping look to rally Asian leaders behind a new "international order" as they meet for a summit aimed at challenging Western influence.

But cracks in summit solidarity quickly appeared, with India's prime minister telling Putin it was "not the time" for the conflict in Ukraine.

Adding to the tension, the forces of two countries -- Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- engaged in fierce border clashes while their leaders were in attendance. — AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet for their first face-to-face talks since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, hailing their strategic ties in defiance of the West.

Sitting across from each other at two long rounded tables and flanked by aides, the two leaders meet on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in ex-Soviet Uzbekistan. 

The meeting was part of Xi's first trip abroad since the early days of the pandemic and for Putin a chance to show Russia has not been fully isolated despite Western efforts. — AFP

Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet next week during a regional summit in Uzbekistan, a Russian diplomat says, as the Chinese leader makes his first trip abroad since the start of the pandemic.

"In less than 10 days our leaders will meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit" in Samarkand, the Russian ambassador to China, Andrey Denisov, tells Russian agencies. — AFP

China's top legislator Li Zhanshu will visit Russia next week, state media reported Sunday, becoming the highest-ranking Communist Party politician to travel to the country since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Beijing and Moscow have drawn closer in recent years, ramping up cooperation as part of what they call a "no limits" relationship, acting as a counterweight to the global dominance of the United States.

Meanwhile, tensions between China and the West have risen as Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and provided diplomatic cover by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv.

Li, who ranks third in the Chinese government hierarchy, will pay official visits to Russia, Mongolia, Nepal and South Korea from Wednesday until September 17, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

He will attend the Eastern Economic Forum due to be held over four days from Monday in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok, Xinhua reported. — AFP

Chinese troops will travel to Russia to take part in joint military drills, Beijing's defence ministry says.

Beijing and Moscow have close defence links and China has said it wants to push bilateral relations "to a higher level," even as Moscow faces international sanctions and widespread condemnation over its war in Ukraine.

China's defence ministry says its participation in the annual "Vostok" exercises -- which Moscow has said will take place from August 20 to September 5 -- is part of a bilateral cooperation agreement with Russia.

"The aim is to deepen practical and friendly cooperation with the armies of participating countries, enhance the level of strategic collaboration among the participating parties, and strengthen the ability to respond to various security threats," the Chinese defence ministry says in a statement. — AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping appears as guest of honour at Russia's showcase economic forum, as the two neighbours present a united front in the face of shared troubles with the US.

Xi arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a three-day visit with Vladimir Putin and described the Russian leader as his "best friend" during a cosy meeting at the Kremlin. — AFP