Putin and Xi affirm strategic alliance amid ‘unpredictable’ world

What the report says

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin used a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to restate their strategic partnership amid what both described as a more uncertain international environment. It was their first in-person meeting since May, and Xi said ties between Beijing and Moscow had become more solid, while Putin said cooperation was developing across multiple areas.

According to Al Jazeera’s report, the leaders’ remarks came as Russia faces its fifth year of war in Ukraine and as Western governments continue to press China to use its influence on Moscow. Xi said the relationship still had brighter prospects ahead, even as global unpredictability has increased. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said the talks focused mainly on economic relations and that Ukraine was discussed only briefly.

The Bishkek summit marks 25 years of the SCO, a regional security and economic bloc that brings together more than a dozen heads of state. The gathering also includes leaders such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. More broadly, the article notes that Russia has grown more dependent on China since sanctions were imposed over the Ukraine war, underscoring why the Moscow-Beijing alignment remains closely watched by Western capitals.