Amid a deluge of diplomatic cliches, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have quietly sent a message to millions across the West.
Brielle Burns
China has rolled out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, just days after Xi Jinping hosted US President Donald Trump.
Mr Putin met Mr Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, with the two leaders sharing a long handshake and posing for a photo, before a lavish welcome ceremony kicked off in scenes near identical to Mr Trump’s welcome.
The two leaders walked down the red carpet to the centre of the square, where they stood as the Chinese military band played the Russian and Chinese national anthems.
Mr Putin arrived in Beijing late on Tuesday for the two-day state visit and was greeted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as was Mr Trump days earlier.
Mr Trump wrapped up his high-stakes two-day visit last Friday, May 15.
Amid a deluge of diplomatic cliches, the most notable phrase to pass the leaders’ lips today was that of a “multipolar world”.
The phrase has become shorthand for a global order no longer dominated by the United States, with power instead split between several major blocs including China, Russia and other emerging regional powers.
For years, both governments have argued the US-led post-Cold War system is weakening. But amid the Iran conflict, worsening tensions over Taiwan, growing instability across global trade routes and the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the language is landing a bit differently.
Beijing and Moscow are increasingly positioning themselves not just as strategic partners, but as alternative architects of global order itself. Their repeated calls for a “new type of international relations” reflect a broader push to weaken Western dominance over global institutions, sanctions systems and international rules largely shaped by Washington after 1991.
China, Russia denounce US
The leaders openly escalated their attacks on the West in a new joint declaration vaguely accusing powers of carrying out “treacherous military strikes”, assassinations and regime-change operations under the cover of diplomacy.
In a statement released by the Kremlin following talks between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, the two leaders condemned:“treacherous military strikes against other countries, the hypocritical use of negotiations as cover for preparing such strikes, the assassination of leaders of sovereign states”.
The language appeared aimed squarely at recent US actions in Iran and Venezuela during Donald Trump’s second presidency. Xi and Putin warned those actions “grossly violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter” and cause “irreparable damage” to the post-World War II global order.
The pair also attacked Washington’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile shield, warning the space-based defence project “poses a clear threat to strategic stability”.
They added the technology risks turning outer space into “a site of armed confrontation”
‘Enduring friendship’
Setting a warm tone for the visit, Mr Xi and Mr Putin exchanged “congratulatory letters” on Sunday to mark 30 years of their countries’ strategic partnership.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun lauded “the enduring friendship between China and Russia” on Tuesday.
And in a video message to the Chinese people released on Tuesday, Putin said relations have reached “a truly unprecedented level”, and that “trade between Russia and China continues to grow”.
“The close strategic relationship between Russia and China plays a major, stabilising role globally. Without allying against anyone, we seek peace and universal prosperity,” Mr Putin said, without mentioning any third country.
One project still unresolved
Despite the warm rhetoric, the two sides failed to finalise details surrounding the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline.
The multibillion-dollar project remains unresolved, with the Kremlin saying only that both sides reached “a general understanding”.
The planned gas link that would send Russian natural gas to China through Mongolia, allowing Moscow to redirect energy exports previously destined for Europe after Western sanctions over Ukraine.
The project could eventually transport roughly 50 billion cubic metres of gas annually, making it one of the most strategically important energy deals between the two countries.
But despite years of negotiations, the two sides still reportedly disagree over pricing and supply terms, showing that even as the two powers grow closer politically, Beijing continues driving a hard economic bargain.
– With AFP
