Chinese leader Xi Jinping is arriving in Moscow on a state visit billed by Beijing as a peace mission. Officials in Western capitals are eyeing the trip — his first since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine — for signs it could exacerbate global tensions, by providing Russian President Vladimir Putin with a morale boost and a tacit endorsement of his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
In an article published in a Russian newspaper ahead of the visit, Xi said Beijing had “always taken an objective and impartial position” on the year-old Ukraine conflict and made “efforts to promote reconciliation and peace negotiations.” Putin, meanwhile, said Russia is “open to a political and diplomatic resolution” to the war. He also issued a sharp rebuke of the United States and NATO, while underscoring ties between Beijing and Moscow, which he said were standing “shoulder to shoulder.”
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