Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pledged his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin as Moscow amasses troops along its border with Ukraine.
Speaking at a virtual summit between the two leaders, Xi Jinping backed his Russian counterpart as Kremlin defies NATO and European calls for de-escalation by deploying some 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border. “Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to support Russian efforts to protect its long-term security amid rising international pressure over Moscow’s attitude to Ukraine,” the Hong-Kong daily South China Morning Post reported Wednesday.
Beijing backed Moscow’s demand for rolling back the NATO in eastern Europe while the Russian military continues to threaten neighboring Ukrainian and Russia-backed militia operate in the country. “Russia and China should stand firm in rejecting Western interference and defending each other’s security interests, presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping agreed in a video call on Wednesday,” the Reuters noted.
The South China Morning Post reported the details of the bilateral conference call:
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to support Russian efforts to protect its long-term security amid rising international pressure over Moscow’s attitude to Ukraine.In a video call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Xi also said China and Russia opposed attempts to divide the two nations and called for more joint actions to safeguard their security interests.Calling Putin an “old friend”, Xi said he appreciated Putin’s “firm support” for China defending its core interests, and in opposing attempts to separate China and Russia. Meanwhile, Putin expressed support for Beijing’s stance on Taiwan.“China and Russia are both major nations with global influence,” Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua. “China will, as always, firmly support Russia’s efforts to maintain the country’s long-term stability”.
The Chinese support comes as U.S. intelligence fears an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The new intelligence finding estimates that the Russians are planning to deploy an estimated 175,000 troops and almost half of them are already deployed along various points near Ukraine’s border,” the Associated Press reported on December 4.
Much like Russia, China is also engaged in aggressive military maneuvers against Taiwan, an Island nation that Beijing wants to bring under its control. On Wednesday, China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) conducted live-fire drills in South China Sea. In October, The PLA carried massive incursion of Taiwan’s air defense zone, flying in around 150 fighters jets, warplanes and nuclear-capable bombers.
Last month, China and Russia signed a series of agreements paving the wave for a military alliance. Chinese and Russian defense chiefs “signed a road map for closer military cooperation over the next five years,” the South China Morning Post reported on November 24.
The emerging Sino-Russian axis poses a huge military challenge to the United States. The joint Chinese and Russian military budget, pegged at $604 and $200 billion respectively, exceeds that of the U.S. which is estimated be around $715 billion.
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