China’s President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held on Tuesday a video conference call, a day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the US president for a second time.
During the call, a portion of which was shared by the Kremlin, Putin said the basis of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is a “broad community of national interests and a coincidence of views on what relations between major powers should be.”
Expressing that Russia and China are building their ties on the basis of matters such as friendship and mutual trust and benefit, Putin said these relations are “self-sufficient” and do not depend on domestic political factors or the current global situation.
“Their comprehensive strengthening fully meets the objectives of the integrated development of Russia and China, improving the well-being of the peoples of both countries,” Putin added.
He said both countries coordinate at international platforms such as the UN, SCO, G20, and APEC, jointly advocating for the construction of a “more just multipolar world order” and work to ensure “indivisible security” in Eurasia and the world.
“It is safe to say that foreign policy ties, the joint work of Russia and China objectively play an important stabilizing role in international affairs,” the Russian leader said.
He said China is the largest consumer of Russian energy resources, and humanitarian ties between the two countries are expanding.
For his part, Xi said Beijing is preparing to take Russian-Chinese relations to a “new height” together with Putin, expressing that both countries will defend the UN-centric international system.