Latest news with #RussiaChinaRelations
Fox News
09-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
An Exclusive Interview With Vice President J.D. Vance
This week has marked many significant moments for the Trump administration and the world. In a press conference on Thursday, President Trump signed the first major trade deal with the United Kingdom, a longstanding ally of the United States. Meanwhile, tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after recent conflicts. Vice President J.D. Vance sat down with Martha to discuss the next phase of the Trump administration's agenda after securing a deal with the UK. The Vice President discussed various foreign policy issues facing the administration, highlighting President Trump's intentions for dealing with Russia and China. He explains why the administration's policies will have long-term benefits for the United States. Follow Martha on X: @MarthaMacCallum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Putin and Xi sign statement to deepen strategic partnership between Russia and China
MOSCOW, May 8 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a statement on Thursday to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between their two countries. Speaking in the Kremlin after talks with Xi, Putin said Russia-China relations were self-sustaining and that the two countries would continue to increase the share of their national currencies used in mutual settlements.
New York Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Putin and Xi Present a United Front as They Face an Unpredictable Trump
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping, the leader of China, presented their countries as guardians of stability and historical memory on Thursday, at a meeting in Moscow a day before celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The leaders made public remarks ahead of talks in the Kremlin, part of a separate state visit that Moscow has organized for Mr. Xi, its most important partner. The Chinese leader will also attend a military parade in Red Square on Friday. Both Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi are having to deal with the unpredictability of President Trump — the Russian president in talks over Ukraine and the Chinese leader in a bruising trade war. Each has sought to present their countries as alternative world powers looking to bring about what they call a more equal, multipolar world. Mr. Trump had employed some of the same nationalist grievance politics and disinformation strategies that Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi have used to cement their power at home, but has failed to reach a deal with either leader since returning to the White House. Talks with Moscow over the war in Ukraine have not curbed the fighting and U.S. officials are set to begin trade negotiations in Switzerland this week with their Chinese counterparts. In Moscow, the summit took place as Mr. Putin was set to welcome what the Kremlin expects to be more than 25 world leaders to the Red Square celebrations. The guests include a veritable 'Who's Who' of authoritarians, with the presidents of Venezuela, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea and Belarus expected to attend. But none of the leaders is more important to Moscow than Mr. Xi. Russia's isolation from the West over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has dramatically increased Moscow's dependence on Beijing. China has supported Mr. Putin's war effort by buying Russian oil, supplying dual-use components for Russian equipment and replacing departed Western brands with Chinese consumer goods. Beijing, however, has stopped short of overt military intervention or support. Mr. Xi described relations between China and Russia today as 'more calm, confident, stable and resilient' in his opening remarks at the Kremlin. He cast the two leaders as defenders of a fair and just world order. And he evoked their countries' sacrifices during World War II as a symbol of their strength today to push back against 'unilateralism and bullying by powerful countries,' an unmistakable reference to the United States and its trade war against China. The Soviet Union lost some 27 million people during the war, making the memory of the conflict one of the most powerful and emotional forces in Russian life. Mr. Putin has manipulated that memory to energize his troops, falsely accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who is Jewish, of reviving Nazism. Russian forces fighting in Ukraine have been told they must make sacrifices like their forebears did during World War II to once again rid the world of a fascist threat. 'The victory over fascism, achieved at the cost of enormous sacrifices, is of timeless importance,' Mr. Putin told Mr. Xi ahead of their talks. Mr. Putin said that Russia and China 'firmly stand guard over historical truth' and 'protect the memory of the events of the war years.' The two countries, he said, 'oppose modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism,' a clear reference by the Russian leader to his crusade against Ukraine and its Western backers. Moscow's celebration of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany comes more than three years after Mr. Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine and reordered Russian society with a level of repression, militarism and control over official narratives unseen since the days of the Soviet Union.
Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Xi and Putin rewrite past and future together at Victory Day parade
Russia is preparing for a Victory Day parade that will showcase a renewed alliance with China. President Putin has said his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will be the 'main guest' at the parade on Friday, which will gather those world leaders who have resisted western pressure to shun Russia over the war in Ukraine. Xi flew on Wednesday from Beijing for an extended four-day visit both sides said would cement the growing ties between the two nations, which are even more reliant on each other as a result of President Trump's volatile, America-first international policies. Trump has seemingly backed away from trying to enforce a peace deal on Ukraine that is favourable to Putin's demands. Meanwhile, he is still attempting to put pressure on China over trade, despite agreeing to allow Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, to meet the Chinese vice-premier, He Lifeng, for initial talks about tariffs at the weekend. Confirming Xi's long-rumoured visit to Moscow, a Chinese government spokesman said: 'We believe the important common understandings between the two presidents will further deepen political mutual trust, add new substance to strategic co-ordination, promote practical cooperation in various fields, bring more benefits to the two peoples and contribute more stability and positive energy to the international community.' Putin was blunter about the charm offensive with which he intended to greet Xi, whose economic as well as diplomatic support has become vital thanks to tough western sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine. He said he would make it a 'special visit' for the Chinese leader. 'We will prepare a good and eventful programme,' Putin said last month. 'He will be our main guest.' There will be more than 20 other world leaders present but none from western Europe or the US. Among other foreign leaders to have arrived in Russia on Wednesday was Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of fellow Brics member Brazil, along with President Maduro of Venezuela. Aleksandar Vučić, the president of Serbia, also flew to Moscow in a visit that is likely to draw the ire of the EU. While the Balkan country has long-held aspirations of joining the bloc, it also maintains close ties with Russia and a shared aversion to Nato since its involvement in the Kosovo war. Before the pageantry, and hours before a self-declared Russian three-day ceasefire was set to begin, a slew of Ukrainian drone attacks closed airports across Russia — including Moscow's airport for the third day straight — leaving 60,000 passengers stranded, according to local officials. The plane carrying Xi, however, managed to touch down without issue on Wednesday morning. China and Russia have had an up-and-down relationship with each other since the Second World War — and with the memory of the war itself. While Stalin's support was vital for Chairman Mao eventually to win the Chinese civil war in 1949 and establish his domestic political dominance, the two Communist Parties fell out in the 1950s and 1960s and China quietly took America's side in the Cold War. Since America's 'pivot to Asia' under President Obama, Russia and China have patched up their relationship, seeing themselves as natural allies in the face of American 'regime change' policies. That has led to a re-evaluation by China of the significance of the war itself. It is officially known as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a sign of the different historic focus on the conflict in China, which Japan invaded in the 1930s, and anniversaries until recently were not the focus of major celebrations. The Communist Party, then hiding out in the hills of northwestern China, played a relatively small role compared to the then dominant Kuomintang or Nationalists, whose exhausted remnants were driven out four years later. Military parades were reserved for the anniversaries of that 'Liberation' until 2015, when President Xi ordered the marking of the 70th anniversary of Japan's defeat. That was apparently an attempt to reintroduce nationalist as well as ideological fervour to the Chinese people, as well as to capture continuing anti-Japanese sentiments. But Xi has also subtly tried to use the shared suffering of Russia and China in the war to bolster his competing vision of global governance to the much-criticised 'American hegemony'. The two countries suffered by some distance the most deaths in the war, around 20 million in China, and even more in Russia, together accounting for more victims than the rest of the world put together. The Chinese government spokesman called the two countries 'the two main theatres' of the war and said they had made 'historic contributions to secure the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, save their respective nations from demise, and also save the future of mankind.' Twenty years ago, few mentions of the war in English-language Chinese sources went without a reference to Chinese co-operation with the United States and its 'Flying Tigers' air force supply missions over the Himalayas. Now they are far more likely to focus on tales of China's own resilience. In Xi's view, stressed by editorials in state media this week, the shared Russian and Chinese experience of invasion and suffering in the world war is directly linked to support for the United Nations, created in its wake. Xi's affirmation of solidarity with Putin on Friday is thus an implicit rebuke to any attempt by America to undermine the UN or global institutions more generally, or to assert its own pre-eminence within them. Putin meanwhile has used the Russian version of war history to back up his own claims to be 'de-Nazifying' Ukraine. President Trump, of course, has added his own unique voice to the historiography, saying America 'did more than any other country, by far, in producing a victorious result', according to a social media post. 'I am hereby renaming May 8 as Victory Day for World War II and November 11 as Victory Day for World War I,' he said. 'We won both wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance…'
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Xi Jinping begins four-day Russia visit as Ukrainian drones attack Moscow
Xi Jinping has arrived in Moscow at the start of a four-day visit to attend Russia's military parade commemorating the anniversary of the end of the second world war, known in Russia as Victory Day. The Chinese leader's arrival coincided with Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital. Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said Russia's air defence units destroyed at least 14 Ukrainian drones overnight. The attacks forced most of Moscow's airports to close and Russia's national carrier Aeroflot said it was reordering timetables to cope with the disruption. Xi's visit, which comes as China is engaged in a trade war with the US and soon after Ukraine has accused China of directly aiding Russia's invasion, underscores his close relationship with Vladimir Putin. It is Xi's 11th visit to Russia – more than to any other country – since becoming president. The Russian foreign ministry described the trip as 'one of the central events in Russian-Chinese relations this year'. Xi is expected to sign numerous cooperation agreements, deepening the 'no limits' relationship between China and Russia. There will also be discussion of the planned Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which could carry 50bn cubic metres of gas a year from Russia to China. Xi is expected to hold talks with Putin on Thursday and to attend the Victory Day parade on Friday. China's People's Liberation Army will send an honour guard to participate in the ceremony in Moscow for the first time since 2015, and for the first time ever will send an honour guard to participate in parallel celebrations in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Bilateral trade between China and Russia has reached record levels since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, providing Moscow with an economic lifeline at a time when western countries have imposed sanctions on it. Trade reached $245bn in 2024, 66% more than in 2021. China maintains it is a neutral party in the war and that it supports a peaceful resolution to the conflict. But in recent months Kyiv has been increasingly outspoken about what it says is China's direct aid for Moscow's war efforts. Two Chinese mercenaries, out of hundreds who have travelled to fight with the Russian army, were caught in the eastern Donetsk region last month. They did not have a direct link to the Chinese state but recruitment videos are easily found on China's tightly controlled social media. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused China of turning a blind eye to the participation of its nationals in the war.
