Xi’s red carpet welcome for Putin – a man he has described as his “best friend” – comes after a whistle-stop tour in Europe where the Chinese president faced tough questions on his country’s economic and political behaviour. On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced tariffs on $18bn (£14bn) of Chinese goods, angering Beijing.
In a press conference shortly after their meeting on Thursday, and before the two leaders sat down for a celebratory concert to mark the 75th anniversary of formal China-Russia relations, Putin praised the “warm and comradely” talks with Xi. In return, Xi said the friendship between China and Russia was “everlasting” and had “become a model for a new type of international relations”.
