Russian, Chinese leaders meet in Uzbekistan

On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan on Thursday, Russian President Putin thanked Xi Jinping for China’s “balanced” approach to the invasion of Ukraine. Still, Putin said he understood China’s “questions and concerns” about the conflict and promised to answer them. A statement issued by the Chinese government after the meeting said that Xi pledged strong support to Russia’s “core interests.”

What is the nature of their alliance? The two countries both criticized the United States in their comments and have experienced soured relations with the U.S. over the conflict in Ukraine and tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Putin condemned the United States’ attempts to “create a unipolar world.” Xi said that he hoped China and Russia could assume the role of great powers and inject stability into a tumultuous world. China’s government said it had a “no-limits” friendship with Moscow before Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Dig deeper: Read William Inboden’s column in WORLD Opinions about the Chinese government’s documented murder campaign against the Uyghurs.