Russian leader praises ‘comradely’ talks with Chinese president ahead of concert to mark 75 years of ‘friendship’

Russia and China have announced they will deepen their already close military ties, as Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing on his first foreign trip since being inaugurated for a new term as Russia’s president.

It is the latest in a string of statements and signals that the warm relationship between the two countries is as strong as it has ever been.

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© Photograph: Sergei Bobylyov/AFP/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Sergei Bobylyov/AFP/Getty Images

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• Full report: Putin arrives in China

Vladimir Putin has said that Russia-China cooperation is not directed against any other power and is a stabilising factor for the world, during his meeting with Xi Jinping.

It is of crucial significance that relations between Russia and China are not opportunistic and are not directed against anyone. Our cooperation in world affairs today acts as one of the main stabilising factors in the international arena.”

In our new journey we intend to remain good neighbours, trusted friends and reliable partners, consistently strengthening the relationship between our two nations … defending international equality.”

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© Photograph: Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images

During the two-day visit the leaders will take part in a gala evening celebrating 75 years since the Soviet Union recognised the People’s Republic of China

Russian president Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping that the Kremlin hopes will deepen a strategic partnership between the two most powerful geopolitical rivals of the United States.

State news agency Xinhua confirmed his arrival on Thursday for what China’s state press has described as a state visit from an “old friend”. The two leaders will take part in a gala evening celebrating 75 years since the Soviet Union recognised the People’s Republic of China, which was declared by Mao Zedong in 1949.

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© Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

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© Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

Russia, shunned from the world stage, and China, subject to new US tariffs, want to pivot further from the west

Having secured a mandate to extend his rule of Russia to three decades, Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing on a state visit to meet Xi Jinping intended to shore up his most important international relationship.

The two men toasted their “no-limits” friendship in February 2022 – meant as a counterweight to the global influence of the US. That partnership has increasingly come under pressure as the Biden administration sought to isolate Russia from its Chinese lifeline after the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, which began later the same month.

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© Photograph: SPUTNIK/Reuters

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© Photograph: SPUTNIK/Reuters

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