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Russia, China push back against US in joint statement

Russia

Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping issued a joint statement highlighting what it called, as U.S. interference in internal affairs, and both reaffirmed their belief that Taiwan is indeed part of China and not a separate country on its own. both leaders face criticism from Washington over their foreign and domestic policies, especially over their treatment of ethnic groups withing their borders. As reported by the AP:

China and Russia are committed to ‘deepening back-to-back strategic cooperation,’ Xi was quoted as telling Putin

BEIJING (AP) — The leaders of Russia and China pushed back against U.S. pressure on Friday, declaring their opposition to any expansion of NATO and affirming that the island of Taiwan is a part of China, as they met hours before the Winter Olympics kicked off in Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo prior to their talks in Beijing, China, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Putin on Friday arrived in Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympic Games and talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as the two leaders look to project themselves as a counterweight to the U.S. and its allies. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping issued a joint statement highlighting what it called “interference in the internal affairs” of other states, as both leaders face criticism from Washington over their foreign and domestic policies.

“Some forces representing a minority on the world stage continue to advocate unilateral approaches to resolving international problems and resort to military policy,” it read, in a thinly veiled reference to the U.S. and its allies.

The two leaders are looking to project themselves as a counterweight to the U.S.-led bloc, as China growingly shows support for Moscow in its dispute with Ukraine that threatens to break out into armed conflict.

China and Russia are committed to “deepening back-to-back strategic cooperation,” Xi was quoted as telling Putin.

“This is a strategic decision that has far-reaching influence on China, Russia and the world,” Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Chinese
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends an event commemorating the 110th anniversary of Xinhai Revolution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2021. Xi appears to be laying the foundation for a third term as the all-powerful Communist Party meets in Beijing. The official Xinhua News Agency said president and party General Secretary Xi issued a a draft resolution on the party’s “major achievements and historical experience” at the Central Committee’s plenary session that opened on Monday, Nov. 8. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Faced with a “complex and evolving international situation,” the two sides “strongly support each other” in confronting what Xi called “regional security threats” and “international strategic stability,” without directly naming the U.S.

Putin is the highest-profile guest at the Beijing Games following the decision by the U.S., Britain, and others not to send officials in protest of China’s human rights abuses and its treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.

Putin praised “unprecedented” close relations with China, in his opening remarks to Xi carried by Russian television.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, fourth right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, fourth left, attend talks in Beijing, China, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Beijing for the Winter Olympics and talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, amid soaring tensions with Ukraine. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Relations “are developing in a progressive way with a spirit of friendship and strategic partnership,” Putin said. “They have indeed become unprecedented.”

Putin highlighted close economic ties, including a new contract to supply China with 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year from eastern Russian.

“For our meeting today, our oilmen have prepared very good new solutions for the supply of hydrocarbons to the People’s Republic of China, and another step forward has been taken in the gas industry,” Putin said.

Russia has long been a key supplier of oil, gas and coal for China’s massive economy, now the world’s second largest, along with food stuffs and other raw materials.

In this photo provided by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. (Ding Haitao/Xinhua via AP)

China’s state-run news agency reported the two leaders met at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Friday afternoon but gave no details. They did not appear to shake hands when greeting each other due to COVID-19 precautions.

Putin also recalled his presence in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the Chinese delegation’s attendance at Russia’s 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, calling such exchanges “to a certain extent a tradition.”

The discussions mark their first in-person meeting since 2019 and come as China and Russia increasingly align their foreign policies bilaterally and in world bodies such as the United Nations, in opposition to the Western bloc and other major powers.

Leaders of the five ex-Soviet Central Asian nations, which have close ties with both Russia and China, all followed Putin’s lead in attending the Olympics opening, along with other states that have political and economic interests with Beijing.

human rights
FILE – Student activists, some wearing masks with the colors of the pro-independence East Turkistan flag, shout slogans during a rally to protest the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, outside the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia on Jan. 14, 2022. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics open in just over a week. When Beijing held the Summer Olympics in 2008 the International Olympic Committee predicted they could improve human rights, and Chinese politicians hinted at the same. There are no soaring promises this time. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)

A buildup of more than 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine has fueled Western fears that Moscow is poised to invade its neighbor. Russia has denied planning an offensive but urged the U.S. and its allies to provide a binding pledge that NATO won’t expand to Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations or deploy weapons there and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe — demands firmly rejected by the West.

Putin and Xi accused both NATO and the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy of building closer military ties with other countries in Asia as destabilizing and threatening regional security.

“The parties oppose the further expansion of NATO, (and) call on the North Atlantic Alliance to abandon the ideological approaches of the Cold War,” the joint statement said.

Europe
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call last week that Moscow’s security concerns need to be addressed, a statement that marked a notable policy shift for Beijing.

Some observers suggested that Beijing is closely watching how the U.S. and its allies act in the standoff over Ukraine as it ponders further strategy on Taiwan, arguing that indecision by Washington could encourage China to grow more assertive.

The U.S. is Taiwan’s main supplier of fighter aircraft and defensive arms and is legally bound to treat threats to the island democracy as matters of “grave concern.”

The joint statement said that Russia reaffirms that Taiwan is an integral part of China and opposes Taiwan’s independence in any form. China claims the self-governing island as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary.

FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and China’s President Xi Jinping shake hands prior to their talks on the sideline of the 11th edition of the BRICS Summit, in Brasilia, Brazil in Nov. 12, 2019. Amid the soaring tensions over Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin is heading to Beijing on a trip intended to help strengthen Russia’s ties with China and coordinate their policies amid Western pressure. (Ramil Sitdikov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Economic and diplomatic cooperation has expanded into the military field in recent years, as Russia and China have held a series of joint war games, including naval drills and patrols by long-range bombers over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. In August, Russian troops for the first time deployed to Chinese territory for joint maneuvers.

Putin has also noted that Russia has been sharing highly sensitive military technologies with China that helped significantly bolster its defense capability.

By KEN MORITSUGU

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