Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed ties with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as the two face a more geopolitically assertive US government led by Donald Trump, who criticised the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine on the first day of his second term as president.
On Monday, Trump’s return to the Oval Office was marked by a blitz of executive orders, largely focused on domestic issues but including several affecting the global community, particularly withdrawing the US from both the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization.
However, Trump appeared to hold off on swift tariff actions against countries including China, while also seeking a 75-day stay on a sell-or-ban order for TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
Speaking with Putin via video link, Xi highlighted the stability and resilience of China-Russia ties as he pledged to elevate the relationship to new heights this year, according to a readout from state broadcaster CCTV.
A transcript from the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying: “We jointly advocate building a more just multipolar world order, and we are working in the interests of ensuring indivisible security in the Eurasian space and in the world as a whole.”
Ahead of the inauguration, Putin congratulated Trump on taking office and said that Moscow was open to dialogue with the new US administration on nuclear arms and the Ukraine war.
Trump has repeatedly vowed he would broker a swift end to the war – and has long refrained from direct criticism of Putin – but did not mention it during his speech.
