Chinese President Xi Jinping (front right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (front left) attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan this week.
RFE: What We Know About The Russia-China Partnership After The Xi-Putin Meeting
At a time of increasing animosity with the West, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in person for the first time since the start of the Ukraine war to showcase their strong ties.
The two authoritarian leaders gathered on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan's ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand in a show meant to signal deeper coordination and unity between the two countries and reaffirm their relationship amid major battlefield setbacks for Moscow in its nearly seven-month war in Ukraine, which has seen China walk a cautious but supportive line for the Kremlin.
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Update #1: China-Russia alliance 'a long time in the making' and will allow them to 'counter the West': Expert (FOX News)
Update #2: 3 ways China and Russia are forging much closer economic ties (CNN)
WNU Editor: Both sides see no change in the relationship. It is business as usual .... Putin, Xi Hail 'Great Power' Ties at Talks Defying West (Moscow Times/AFP).