Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping pledge ‘new era’ for Russia-China partnership and condemn ‘threat’ of ‘aggressive’ US

Leaders issue joint statement covering issues from Taiwan and Ukraine to peaceful nuclear technologies

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping attend an official welcoming ceremony in Beijing yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Bernard Orr

China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin yestrerday pledged a “new era” of partnership between the two most powerful rivals of the United States, which they cast as an aggressive Cold War hegemon that was sowing chaos across the world.

Mr Xi greeted Putin on a red carpet outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where they were hailed by marching People’s Liberation Army soldiers, a 21-gun salute on Tiananmen Square and children waving the flags of China and Russia.