Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a two-day state visit to Beijing last week where the two leaders reaffirmed their partnership and criticized the military alliances between the United States and its Indo-Pacific allies.
At a Thursday summit in Beijing, the Russian president thanked President Xi for the proposals China presented last year to end the war in Ukraine, which both Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected.
Putin’s visit to China comes as his forces continue their latest offensive in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, in one of the most significant border incursions since the invasion began in February 2022.
While China claims that it is neutral in the conflict, it has supported Moscow’s claim that Russia was provoked by the West into invading Ukraine. Beijing also continues to provide the key components Russia needs for weapons production.
Last year, Beijing proposed a peace plan between the two countries that called for a ceasefire and direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Both Ukraine and the West rejected the proposal over its failure to include a call for Russia to leave the regions of Ukraine it currently occupies.
In a joint statement issued by both countries on Thursday, China echoed Moscow’s claim about the “Nazification” of Ukraine, saying that the two nations condemned “the glorification of or even attempts to revive Nazism and militarism” in Europe.
In defending the February 2022 invasion, President Putin claimed that the main goal of Russia’s military action was the “denazification” of Ukraine. Putin accused President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government of being neo-Nazis, despite Zelenskyy being Jewish.
Putin’s ceremonial and largely symbolic visit to Beijing served to reaffirm the partnership between Russia and China as both countries’ relations with the US and Europe face challenges.
While both presidents asserted that they wanted to reach an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, neither offered any new proposals in their public remarks.
