Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday framed their nations’ ties as a stabilizing force in a chaotic world as they met in Beijing.
Putin was greeted by Xi at a grand welcoming ceremony outside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, footage by state broadcaster CCTV showed.
In a meeting, Xi then told his “old friend” Putin that China-Russia relations were “conducive to peace.”
Photo: AFP
“China is ready to work with Russia to ... uphold fairness and justice in the world,” Xi added.
Putin, in turn, told Xi that the two countries’ relations were “stabilizing factors in the international arena.”
“Relations between Russia and China are not opportunistic and not directed against anyone,” Putin said, a Kremlin readout showed. “Together, we uphold the principles of justice and a democratic world order that reflects multipolar realities and is based on international law.”
Following closed-door meetings, the two leaders signed a joint statement on deepening their countries’ “comprehensive strategic partnership,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The Russian leader’s arrival came hours after he hailed his country’s troops for advancing on “all fronts” on the battlefield in Ukraine, following a major new ground assault.
The Kremlin said that Russia and China had agreed to oppose “further escalation” of the conflict in Ukraine.
“The parties note the need to stop any steps that contribute to the prolongation of hostilities,” the Kremlin’s readout of their joint statement said.
In a statement to media following talks with Putin, Xi said the two sides agreed on the need for a “political solution” to resolve the war.
“China’s position on this issue has always been clear,” Xi said in footage broadcast by Russian TV.
That position included “respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries” as well as “respecting the reasonable security concerns of all sides,” he added.
The remarks echo a paper issued by Beijing last year, which Western countries said could enable Russia to hold much of the territory it has seized in Ukraine.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,