China and Russia Emphasize Cooperation and Support to Outshine the West... Xi Jinping Avoids Mentioning Ukraine War

Xi Jinping's First Overseas Tour in 2 Years and 8 Months Since COVID-19 Outbreak
Putin Actively Supports 'One China' and Strongly Criticizes the US
President Xi Avoids Direct Mention of Ukraine War

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first face-to-face summit since the Ukraine war on the 15th, showcasing their commitment to strategic cooperation between the two countries. However, unlike President Putin, who directly expressed support for the "One China" policy and criticized the United States, President Xi refrained from directly mentioning the Ukraine war and showed restraint in involvement.

On the 15th, local state media such as China Central (CC) TV and Xinhua News Agency reported that President Xi and President Putin held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which opened in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to exchange views on China-Russia relations and international and regional issues. At the meeting, President Xi stated, "China strongly supports Russia on issues concerning each other's core interests and wishes to strengthen practical cooperation in fields such as trade and agriculture," emphasizing, "We must enhance coordination and cooperation within a multilateral framework, promote solidarity and mutual trust among all parties, and safeguard regional security interests and the common interests of both countries."

Although the Ukraine and Taiwan issues were initially expected to be the main topics of discussion at the meeting, President Xi did not directly mention the Ukraine issue in the public forum. However, referring to President Putin as an "old friend," he stressed, "China wants to cooperate with Russia to fulfill the responsibilities of major powers and play a leading role in stabilizing global changes and disorder," indirectly expressing a willingness to cooperate.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, President Putin showed a difference in tone by deliberately criticizing the United States while mentioning the Taiwan issue at the same venue. In his public remarks, he emphasized, "We firmly uphold the 'One China' principle" and "condemn the provocations by the United States and its satellite countries regarding the Taiwan issue." This criticized the recent visits to Taiwan by U.S. and European lawmakers following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month, sharply confronting China, and was stronger in tone compared to the "One China" support statements made by Central Asian leaders whom President Xi met earlier.

Regarding the Ukraine war, President Putin rather represented China's position. He said, "Russia highly appreciates China's balanced view on the Ukraine crisis" and "understands China's questions and concerns about the war." He added, "We will explain our position in detail."

The Chinese state-run English newspaper Global Times reported that "President Putin's remarks (China's balanced stance) are very objective" and "the Taiwan issue is very clear in terms of right and wrong." It also evaluated that "these remarks reflect the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia." However, citing experts, it explained that "besides Russia, there are many allies in the world, and China must prevent the West from portraying China and Russia as a political and military alliance," while also referring to foreign media reports such as CNN and Bloomberg that viewed this meeting as an attempt to jointly confront U.S. hegemony.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.