BEIJING: On Friday, Chinese President Xi warns Putin that the path to peace negotiations on Ukraine would not be easy and vowed to maintain China’s “objective and fair attitude” in the matter.
According to CCTV’s report on a call between the two men, Xi stressed the need for Beijing and Moscow to closely coordinate and cooperate in international matters and emphasised Russia’s willingness to engage in talks over Ukraine.
“The Chinese side has noted that the Russian side has declared it has never refused to resolve the dispute through diplomatic dialogue, and expressed its appreciation for this,” Xi was reported as saying in the video call by CCTV.
A mutual mistrust of the US and its allies has brought Xi and Putin closer together in recent years, which was emphasised by a proclamation of a “no-limits” strategic cooperation in early February that alarmed the West.
Putin and Xi to speak via video link on Friday: Kremlin
But China has made it clear that Beijing is not involved in the conflict in any manner since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, and Putin acknowledged in public that Xi had “questions and worries” about the conflict in September, after the Russian army had suffered a number of reverses on the front lines.
Putin declared on Russian television on Friday that he wanted to improve military ties with China, but there was no mention of this in the CCTV account of the call.
In Beijing, at least officially, the “no limits” depiction of the Sino-Russian alliance has lost favour as Beijing tries to avoid Western sanctions for supporting Russia’s military endeavours.
However, Xi made it clear on Friday that Beijing and Moscow share the same ideological views when it comes to battling what they both see as the hegemonic West led by the United States.
According to Putin, China’s Xi is scheduled to visit Russia in the spring.
Xi told Putin that sanctions and interference are certain to failure and that containment and oppression are unpopular.
“China is prepared to cooperate with Russia and any progressive forces against hegemony and power politics worldwide…
and fiercely uphold both nations’ sovereignty, security, and development interests as well as international law.
