Putin, Xi close ranks against the West

Russian and Chinese leaders tell Nato to stop expansion, while Moscow backs Beijing on Taiwan and its independence

BEIJING: Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping closed ranks against the US and its allies on key security issues as they declared that there’s no limit and “no forbidden zones” in the friendship between Russia and China.

At their first in-person meeting in more than two years Friday, Putin and Xi said in a joint statement that China “treats with understanding and supports” Russia’s demand for binding security guarantees from the US and Nato in the standoff over Ukraine, and backs Moscow in opposing expansion of the Western military alliance.

Russia endorsed China’s policy on Taiwan, saying it opposed Taiwanese independence “in any form.” The two powers also said they were “seriously concerned” about the Aukus security partnership formed by the US, Australia and the UK, warning of the risk of an arms race in the AsiaPacific region.

The summit meeting lasting almost four hours in Beijing was a conveniently timed show of solidarity on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics and the Russian leader used the occasion to court his increasingly powerful neighbour to help offset the US’s alliance network.

The 38th one-on-one exchange between the two longtenured authoritarian leaders took place amid U.S. and European warnings of punishing sanctions if Russia invades neighbouring Ukraine, something Moscow insists it isn’t planning to do.

With growing political, military and economic frictions between China and the U.S, both Moscow and Beijing see an advantage in drawing closer together on the world stage.

Putin is easily the most highprofile among the 21 world leaders attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Games, with Australia, Canada and the UK joining the US’s “diplomatic boycott” over China’s human rights record. Beijing has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking to politicize the global sporting event, while using Putin’s visit to tout closer ties with Moscow.

“The speed and scale of their rapprochement is accelerating,” said Alexander Gabuev, head of the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Russia in the Asia-Pacific programme, before the summit took place.

In a statement laced with criticism of USs policies and actions, Putin and Xi declared a “new type” of relations between Russia and China that they said was superior to military-political alliances of the Cold War era.

Their deepening ties represent a strategic challenge for US President Joe Biden, who’s sought to focus his administration on the geopolitical contest with China even as Putin repeatedly forces him to devote time and resources to Russia.

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom PJSC signed a deal with China National Petroleum Corp to increase supplies to the nation, the world’s largest energy consumer. Putin told Xi the agreement would “supply 10 billion cubic metres a year of gas to China” via a new route from the Far East. Separately, Russia’s biggest oil producer Rosneft PJSC has reached an agreement with CNPC as well to deliver 100 million tons of crude oil via Kazakhstan within 10 years.

China is already Russia’s largest trading partner and trade jumped by one-third to a record $140 billion last year, driven by rising energy consumption and commodity prices.