China and Russia pledged to further deepen their already “no limits” partnership in a joint statement published ahead of Russia’s military parade yesterday, as the two sides stressed the importance of maintaining the “correct view” of World War II history.
In a lengthy statement published during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to Moscow for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of the World War II, which Russia celebrates on 9 May as Victory Day, Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said “certain countries ... are attempting to tamper with the results of the victory of World War II.”
Xi is on his 11th visit to Russia since becoming president in 2013. On Thursday, Xi and Putin held nearly four hours of talks in which both leaders described the other as a close friend. Putin announced plans to visit China in the autumn for the commemoration of Japan’s defeat in World War II.
Photo: AP
The Xi-Putin statement went further than previous ones in directly condemning the US.
“The United States and its allies are trying to promote NATO’s eastward expansion into the Asia-Pacific region, build ‘small circles’ in the Asia-Pacific region and win over countries in the region to promote their ‘Indo-Pacific strategy,’ undermining regional peace, stability and prosperity,” the statement said.
The statement also said that “unilateral coercive measures, including economic sanctions, that bypass the UN Security Council violate the UN Charter and other international laws and undermine international security interests.”
This week’s meeting of the Chinese and Russian leaders underscores the close relationship between the two men who see themselves as a bulwark against US hegemony
Earlier this week, Xi claimed that World War II also represented the “liberation” of Taiwan and marked “Taiwan’s return to China.”
The joint Xi-Putin statement stated that Russia “firmly supports the measures taken by the Chinese government to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and achieve national reunification.”
Although China and Russia do not have a normal military alliance, there are growing concerns in the West about the close security cooperation between the two countries. China and Russia conducted 14 joint military exercises last year, according to data compiled by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies’ ChinaPower project, which tracks military and economic developments.
A Chinese honor guard participated in yesterday’s military parade in Moscow for the first time since 2015.
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