BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday held his first face-to-face conversation with a world leader in nearly two years, meeting Russia's Vladimir Putin, who hailed the "unprecedented" ties between the neighbors as with the West. The tension increases.
Xi has not left China since January 2020, when the country was battling its initial COVID-19 outbreak and locked down the central city of Wuhan where the virus was first detected.
He is now launching a sudden flurry of diplomatic activity as more than 20 world leaders fly in for the Winter Olympics, an event that has been described as a change from a build-up to a soft-power victory and a diplomatic boycott to China. have hope. Covid fear.
The two leaders met in the Chinese capital as their countries seek to deepen ties amid mounting criticism from the West.
Moscow's relations with Beijing "are progressively developing on the path of friendship and strategic partnership, they are of a truly unprecedented nature", Putin said in remarks televised at the start of their meeting.
Putin said Russia and China are "an example of a respectful relationship".
Ahead of the meeting, Moscow drew up a new contract for the supply of 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China from Russia's Far East, he said.
Both these stalwarts will attend the Olympic opening ceremony in the evening.
While Russian officials are banned from participating in international sporting events over a doping scandal, they can participate if invited by the host country's head of state.
Rising tensions with the West have strengthened ties between the world's largest nation and its most populous, and Putin was the first foreign leader to confirm his presence at the Olympics.
"I have known President Xi Jinping for a long time," Putin was quoted as saying by CCTV in a report on Friday.
"As good friends and politicians who share many similar views on solving the world's problems, we have always maintained close communication."
Articles by Putin
China's state-run Xinhua news agency also published an article by Putin on Thursday in which the Russian leader increasingly painted a portrait of two neighbors with shared global goals.
He also hit out at the US-led Western diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, triggered by China's human rights record.
"Unfortunately, attempts by many countries to politicize the Games for their own sake have recently intensified," Putin wrote, describing such moves as "fundamentally wrong".
For its part, China has become more vocal in supporting Russia in its dispute with NATO powers over Ukraine.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Russia's security concerns "legitimate", and said they "should be taken seriously and addressed".
Moscow is seeking support after deploying 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine, prompting Western nations to warn of an invasion and of "serious consequences" in response to any Russian attack.
After the establishment of Communist rule in 1949, China received substantial support from the Soviet Union – the forerunner of the modern Russian state, but later both socialist powers collapsed due to ideological differences.
Relations came back on track with the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, and the pair have followed a strategic partnership in recent years that has seen them work together on trade, military and geopolitical issues.
Those ties are further strengthened during the Xi era, at a time when Russia and China find themselves at greater odds with Western powers.
Other leaders set to enjoy Xi's hospitality during the Games include Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, Kazakhstan's Qassem-Jomart Tokayev, Pakistan's Imran Khan and Poland's Andrzej Duda.
Altogether around 21 world leaders are expected to participate in the Games.