Moscow and Beijing gave alternative accounts of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) birthday call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as both sides seek to manage perceptions of their relationship in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin readout on Wednesday said the two men, both 69, discussed increasing economic cooperation, trade and military-technical ties between China and Russia.
Moscow’s version also implied the Chinese leader endorsed Putin’s justification for invading Ukraine, saying Xi noted the “legitimacy of Russia’s actions in protecting its fundamental national interests in the face of security challenges created by external forces.”
By contrast, state broadcaster China Central Television said Xi “actively promoted world peace and the stability of the global economic order” during the call.
Xi pushed all parties to find “a proper settlement to the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner,” the report added, making no mention of military ties or increasing trade links.
Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow and chair of Russia in the Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said the Kremlin’s readout of the call was geared toward a domestic audience.
Putin is trying to project strength at home, after being forced to narrow his war goals to the east by his failure to quickly take Kyiv and other key cities.
China’s version was clearly more mindful of the West, where its war response is under great scrutiny, Gabuev said.
US President Joe Biden in March warned China of the “implications and consequences” if Beijing backs Moscow over the invasion, either by providing military support or helping it avoid sweeping economic sanctions imposed by the US, the EU and others.
While there has been no sign of Beijing helping Moscow in either way, it has offered rhetorical support by repeating Russian conspiracy theories — such as the false claim that the US runs weapons biolabs in Ukraine — and diplomatically through Xi’s continued contact with Putin.
Asked about the apparent discrepancy in the readouts, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文彬) yesterday said that China and Russia support each other on “core interests and issues of major concern.”
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
RSS