China, Russia pledge deeper strategic cooperation

September 02, 2025 (MLN): China and Russia declared their continued deepening of political mutual trust and strategic cooperation, injecting what President Xi Jinping described as “valuable stability and positive energy” into a turbulent international situation.

The two countries began high-level talks in Beijing as President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met ahead of a massive military parade marking the end of World War II.

World leaders, including North Korea's Kim Jong Un, have gathered in the Chinese capital for the showcase of Beijing's might on Wednesday.

“In the morning of September 2, President Xi Jinping met with Russian President Putin... in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Xi has embarked on a flurry of diplomatic meetings this week, including participation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, a forum China views as an alternative to Western-led cooperation.

During the summit, Xi criticised Western “bullying behaviour,” a veiled reference to the United States, while Putin defended Russia’s Ukraine offensive and blamed the West for sparking the conflict, as APP reported.

Moscow and Beijing declared a “no limits partnership” weeks before Russia’s February 2022 Ukraine offensive, and their expanded military and trade ties since then have raised concern in the West.

While China insists it is a neutral party and often calls for an end to hostilities, it has not denounced Russia’s war nor urged it to withdraw troops, and Ukraine’s allies believe Beijing has supported Moscow.

Xi and Putin remain in frequent contact, including a phone call last month, and Xi previously visited Moscow in May for Russia’s commemorations of the Nazi defeat in World War II.

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