Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin set their sights on shaping a new world order as the Chinese leader left Moscow on Wednesday, having made no direct support for Putin’s war in Ukraine during his two-day visit.
Xi made a strong show of solidarity with Putin against the West, but he barely mentioned the Ukraine conflict and said on Tuesday that China had an “impartial position”. There was no sign that Xi’s efforts to play the role of peacemaker had yielded results.
Yet, as Xi departed he told Putin: “Now there are changes that haven’t happened in 100 years. When we are together, we drive these changes.”
“I agree,” Putin said, to which Xi responded: “Take care of yourself dear friend, please.”
Commenting on the Xi-Putin meeting, the White House said China’s position was not impartial and urged Beijing to pressure Russia to withdraw from Ukraine’s sovereign territory in order to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two.
As Xi left Moscow, Ukraine faced a new series of Russian drone attacks, which killed at least three people and damaged some infrastructure across the country, shortly after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida left Kyiv.
Kishida’s surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital stole some of the attention from Xi’s trip.
Heralded by the Kremlin as a show of support from its most powerful friend, Xi’s visit to Moscow featured carefully staged pomp and ceremony, but the spectacle was also marked by plenty of demonstrative bonhomie between the two autocrats.
Xi and Putin referred to each other as dear friends, promised economic cooperation and described their countries’ relations as the best they have ever been.
"They [the leaders] shared the view that this relationship has gone far beyond the bilateral scope and acquired critical importance for the global landscape and the future of humanity," said a statement released by China.
Putin said on the Kremlin's website: "We are working in solidarity on the formation of a more just and democratic multipolar world order, which should be based on the central role of the U.N., its Security Council, international law, the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter."
In an earlier joint statement the leaders accused the West of undermining global stability and NATO of barging into the Asia-Pacific region, but asserted the close partnership between China and Russia did not constitute a “military-political alliance.”
On Ukraine, Putin praised Xi for a peace plan he proposed last month, and blamed Kyiv and the West for rejecting. The West sees China’s peace plan as a ploy to buy Putin time to regroup his forces and solidify his grip on occupied land.
China’s 12-point plan has no specific details on how to end the bloody year-long war, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee.
The West has sought to isolate Russia through global sanctions and Putin faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
China has not supported any of the moves and the West is concerned it may help arm Russia in its conflict, which Beijing has denied.
As Xi and Putin ended their talks on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund announced preliminary agreement with Kyiv on a four-year loan package of about $15.6 billion to the shattered country.
Separately, the United States intends to speed up delivery to Ukraine of 31 Abrams battle tanks to the autumn, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.
Kyiv had clamored for tanks as well as other sophisticated Western military hardware as the conflict has slowed to a war of attrition with both sides suffering heavy losses.