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The leaders of China and Russia hailed each other as "old" and "dear" friends. They took swipes at the US and depicted themselves as building a "fairer, multipolar world". And they marvelled at their countries' "deepening" trust. China's top leader, Xi Jinping, used a Beijing-led conference of leaders from mostly developing countries on Wednesday to showcase his ambitions to reshape the global order, as the world grapples with a war in Ukraine and a crisis in Gaza. He cast his country as an alternative to the leadership of the US. And he gave a prominent role to President Vladimir Putin of Russia, underscoring how central their relationship is to Xi's vision.
The event, the Belt and Road Forum, is centered on China's signature foreign policy initiative, which aims to expand Beijing's influence abroad with infrastructure projects. Putin was treated as the guest of honour and often pictured by Xi's side.
Although Xi did not publicly remark on the Israel-Hamas war, Putin, at a news briefing, blamed the US for increasing tensions in West Asia by sending warships to the region. He said that such regional conflicts were "shared threats that only strengthen Russo-Chinese relations." In Putin, Xi has a like-minded partner driven by shared grievances toward the West who is willing to push back against what they both perceive as American hegemony. Xi sought to tout China as a force for stability in the world, with Putin alongside him.
"Ideological confrontation, geopolitical rivalry and bloc politics are not a choice for us," Xi said in a speech at the opening of the forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. "What we stand against are unilateral sanctions, economic coercion and decoupling and supply chain disruption," Xi said, clearly referring to efforts by the US and its Western allies to pressure China. US and China are engaged in an intense rivalry over trade, technology and the status of Taiwan.
Xi's friendly display with Putin at the Beijing forum reaffirms a partnership, not long ago hailed by the leaders as having "no limits," that has contributed to the splintering of countries into opposing blocs. Putin, at the start of his meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the conference, said that China and Russia needed to coordinate their foreign policies more closely, given what he called the "current difficult conditions."
The conference was virtually absent of EU countries, largely because of the divisiveness of Russia's war in Ukraine. PM Viktor Orban of Hungary, an authoritarian-leaning friend of Putin and Xi, was the only EU leader to attend. Represented instead were nearly 150 developing nations.Reuters
English (US)