Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping affirmed a vision of cooperation between the two “great powers” to resist U.S. hegemony at a meeting Thursday.
Putin reiterated support for China’s claim to Taiwan, denouncing the U.S. for “provocations” in Taiwan, at a meeting of counter-Western political bloc leaders in Uzbekistan, according to Reuters. In turn, Xi told Putin that he hoped to enhance cooperation between the two countries as “great powers” to “inject positive energy” into an unstable world, AFP reported.
“Attempts to create a unipolar world have recently acquired an absolutely ugly form and are completely unacceptable,” Putin said, according to AFP.
He also said Moscow “condemns provocations by the United States and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait,” Reuters reported.
U.S. Navy warships patrolled the disputed waters between China and Taiwan after Beijing staged war games around the island in August. The U.S. has committed to providing Taiwan the means to defend itself, but China views U.S. support for Taiwan as a threat to its political sovereignty.
Putin also lauded China’s “balanced position” on the war in Ukraine, saying that Russia “highly valued” China’s approach and would explain Russia’s position during the meeting. China has not joined the majority of United Nations members who condemned the Russian invasion in February, a war that Moscow describes as a “special military operation; however, it has kept verbal comments on the conflict to a minimum and held back on direct material and financial support despite analysts’ expectations.
Economic links between the two countries have nevertheless strengthened, as Russia, restricting oil and gas flows to the West after a barrage of sanctions intended to isolate the country, redirected flows to China. Chinese exports of electronics and other materials that may have wartime uses also increased in 2022. (RELATED: Here’s How China Is Profiting From The Energy Crisis Crippling Europe)
Beijing also sent thousands of troops to participate in Russia’s Vostok war games earlier in September along with representatives from other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a forum created in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to discuss economic and security matters pertinent to central Asia.
NOW – China’s Xi and Russia’s Putin meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.pic.twitter.com/IiicfSS3rO
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 15, 2022
Xi met with Putin on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in Uzbekistan in their first face-to-face meeting since the Russian invasion and Xi’s first trip overseas since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the convention, Mongolia’s president said he supported the construction of a new gas pipeline, the Power of Siberia 2, routed through Mongolia, that would allow Russia to ramp up exports to China, Reuters reported. Moscow proposed the project in 2014 and commissioned a feasibility study in 2020, but China may not have need of the gas by the time it comes online.
Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, also spoke with Putin Thursday as he formally signed on to the SCO after the organization approved Iran’s application in 2021.
“The Americans think whichever country they impose sanctions on, it will be stopped, their perception is a wrong one,” said Raisi, according to AFP.
The foreign ministries and U.S. embassies of Russia and China did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.