China, Russia pledge stronger alliance

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping committed Friday to strengthen ties between their countries. Neither Putin nor Xi explicitly mentioned Ukraine in the opening remarks for their remote videoconference. After those initial remarks, Putin and Xi engaged in a private discussion.

What did they discuss? Putin said he expected Xi to visit Moscow this spring. Xi said that while Russia and China both face a “far from straightforward international situation,” the two countries would have each others’ backs. After the meeting, China’s state broadcaster CCTV described the war in Ukraine as a “crisis”—a departure from its previous language, which described the war as the “Ukraine situation.”

Dig deeper: Read Eric Patterson’s column in WORLD Opinions about Biden’s lack of focus on the problem that China poses to the international community.