Russia And China Extend Their Friendship Pact And Congratulate Each Other

MOSCOW — On Monday, the presidents of Russia and China praised their nations’ growing ties and announced the renewal of a 20-year-old friendship treaty, a display of solidarity in the face of Western concerns.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a video chat with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the pact inked in Moscow in July 2001 helped bring relations between Moscow and Beijing to an “unprecedented height” and that it will be extended for another five years.

The Russian president stated that Russia and China’s joint foreign policy initiatives had played a “stabilizing influence in world events.”

Xi stressed the significance of “strategic cooperation” between Moscow and Beijing in protecting their shared interests in the world arena in his opening comments. He went on to say that Russia and China have been working together to promote “genuine multilateralism and global justice.”

As they fight with the West for influence and confront increasing tensions in relations with the US and its allies, Putin and Xi have built strong personal connections to reinforce a “strategic alliance” between the two former Communist enemies. While Moscow and Beijing have previously dismissed the notion of forming a military alliance, Putin stated last October that such a scenario cannot be completely ruled out.

During their call on Monday, Putin congratulated Xi on the Communist Party of China’s 100th anniversary, which was celebrated on Thursday, saying that China is commemorating the occasion with “new achievements in the country’s social-economic development and on the international stage,” and reiterating Soviet support for the Chinese communists.

Moscow commemorated the CPC’s centenary by exchanging historical materials with Beijing on Soviet-Chinese ties.