Maintaining close ties with Russia is a “strategic choice,” Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said yesterday, calling for deeper bilateral cooperation during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing, state media reported.
The strong relationship between the two nations, which has endured despite Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine early last year, has faced criticism from Western leaders.
“Maintaining and developing China-Russia relations is a strategic choice made by both sides based on the fundamental interests of the two peoples,” Xi told Mishustin in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television reported.
Photo: Reuters
Beijing and Moscow should “continuously amplify the positive effects of high-level political ties” and “deepen cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, energy, connectivity and other fields,” Xi said.
Mishustin on Tuesday said that ties between Moscow and Beijing had reached an “all-time high” during a discussion with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強), readouts published by both sides said.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday called for a “severe” response to foreign agents who aim to destabilize Russia by aiding Ukraine.
“The Kyiv regime with direct support of foreign special services has taken the path of terrorist methods, practically state terrorism,” Putin said in a video address. “These are acts of sabotage against civilian sites, transport and energy infrastructure, attacks against civilians and representatives of authority.”
Numerous sabotages on Russian railroads and drone attacks attributed to Ukraine have been reported since Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine.
“The attempts by foreign special agents to destabilize the political and social situation in Russia must be severely stopped,” Putin said in his address on security agency workers’ day. “Security services have no easy task, but you have all the necessary potential, all the possibilities in order to ensure the security of the state, of society and our citizens.”
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