President Xi Jinping upheld China’s ties with Russia, and reaffirmed Beijing’s position on Ukraine, despite growing frustration among Western governments over perceived Chinese support for Moscow’s war efforts. 

Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said relations between their two countries are “at their best in history”, as they met on Wednesday for the second time in less than two months on the sidelines of a security summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. Both vowed to jointly safeguard “regional tranquility and stability”.

On Ukraine, the Chinese leader repeated that his country had “always stood on the right side of history”, according to a readout from the Foreign Ministry, signalling Beijing’s continued support of Moscow. Putin said Russia opposes external forces interfering in the South China Sea, where tensions have ratcheted up over Beijing’s territorial dispute with the Philippines, a US ally.

“My dear friend, I am very happy at our new meeting,” Xi told Putin. 

The display of deepening ties is likely to further vex Western powers pressing China to stop enabling Russia’s war against Ukraine. Beijing has sought to portray itself as a neutral actor, but Kyiv’s allies have accused it of providing the Kremlin with technologies and parts for weapons used in the war. Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Tuesday said China could end the war with “one phone call” if it chose to, because Russia is so reliant on Beijing, a suggestion dismissed by China.

Since Xi and Putin last sat down in May, the Russian leader has been strengthening his partnerships around Asia. Putin made his first trip to North Korea in 24 years last month, where he signed an agreement with Kim Jong Un to come to each other’s aid if attacked. Kim also pledged to “unconditionally support” Russia in its war on Ukraine.

Putin followed that with a visit to Vietnam, where he said Moscow was considering changing its nuclear doctrine in response to talks in the West about “lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons”. Russia recently held combat drills to practise the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

The Russian leader’s threats to use nuclear weapons since his February 2022 invasion of his neighbour have drawn condemnation from the US and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) allies. Xi, too, has warned against resorting to nuclear weapons.

Beijing itself faces growing threats of retribution by the US for its perceived role in the Ukraine war that could further drag on the slowing Chinese economy. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that China’s financial institutions could face sanctions if they facilitated trade with Russia that aided Moscow’s military capabilities. Yellen last month said large banks had largely complied with the Russian sanctions, but didn’t rule out action against lenders for systematic violations.

Facing growing scrutiny from the West over their military goals, China and Russia have responded by pushing to broaden groups in which they have more sway. The BRICS bloc of emerging-market nations doubled this year, welcoming Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit is expected to see Belarus become the 10th member of the regional grouping set up by China, the SCO’s secretary general Zhang Ming told Chinese media outlets on Monday. Iran joined last year. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed interest in joining the bloc, and met Putin earlier on Wednesday at the summit. 

Erdogan invited Putin to Türkiye, and said that Ankara is ready to assist talks over ending the war in Ukraine. The Turkish leader told his Russian counterpart that “a fair peace that can satisfy both sides is possible”, a Turkish government statement said. 

The meeting between the two leaders was the first since Türkiye approved Sweden’s entry into Nato earlier this year, a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and comes ahead of Erdogan’s participation in a summit of the alliance’s leaders in Washington next week.

In Xi’s meeting with Putin, the Chinese president said his country supports Russia in fulfilling its duties as the rotating chair of the BRICS, uniting the Global South nations, preventing a “new cold war” and opposing “illegal unilateral sanctions and hegemony”.

Xi stressed the importance for Global South nations to exert greater influence on international affairs at an event in Beijing last week, as China seeks to counter the US-led world order.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a regular briefing on Monday that the SCO had “become a fine example of a new type of international relations and regional cooperation”. Beijing hopes the summit will “contribute to the security, stability, development and prosperity of all countries”, she added.

China will take over the SCO’s rotating presidency after the summit in Astana. Xi will also visit Tajikistan this week.

  - Bloomberg