Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to Beijing on Thursday as the two leaders pledged to strengthen their strategic partnership, according to reports.
Putin, accompanied by a delegation of top defense and security officials, met Xi in Beijing's Great Hall of the People in a ceremony marked by military pageantry at the beginning of his two-day visit, CNN reported.
In a statement, Putin and Xi called themselves "priority partners" and said that relations between Moscow and Beijing have stood "the test of rapid changes in the world, demonstrating strength and stability, and are experiencing the best period in their history," CNN reported.
Putin, visiting China on his first overseas trip since being inaugurated last week for his fifth term as president, said his relationship with Xi is a stabilizing force in international relations.
"Together we are defending the principles of justice and a democratic world order reflecting multipolar realities and based on international law," Putin told Xi, Reuters reported.
The Russian leader's visit comes as Moscow is pressing its military operation in northern Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022.
While China has taken a neutral position on the war, it has supported Putin's claim that the West provoked Russia into attacking Ukraine and it has continued to supply Russia with components for its weapons productions, the Associated Press reported.
Putin and Xi in a statement said they believe to bring about a "sustainable settlement of the Ukrainian crisis it is necessary to eliminate its root causes."
Putin has claimed that the incursion into neighboring Ukraine was necessary to wipe out the Nazi influence in the country.
"The two sides pointed out that it is necessary to carry out education on the correct historical perspective, protect the world's anti-fascist memorial facilities, and protect them from desecration or destruction, and severely condemn the glorification of or even attempts to revive Nazism and militarism," their statement said.
