Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday touted his country’s deep alignment with China as he appeared on stage as guest of honor at a global gathering in Beijing, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping pitched his vision for a reshaped world order.
In a previously unannounced speech at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum, Putin hailed Xi’s flagship foreign policy initiative as “aiming to form a fairer, multi-polar world.”
Russia and China share an “aspiration for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation,” which includes “respecting civilization diversity and the right of every state for their own development model” – he added, in an apparent push back against calls for authoritarian leaders to promote human rights and political freedoms at home.
Putin spoke after Xi, who welcomed two dozen world leaders and more than a hundred delegations to an event marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative – an ambitious yet controversial undertaking to boost connectivity and trade across the world with Chinese infrastructure projects.
Xi lauded his initiative for providing an alternative development model for the world, saying it “established a new framework for international cooperation.”
The gathering in Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People took place under the shadow of a war in the Middle East that threatens to escalate into broader regional conflict – and served as a stark showing of the deepening divisions between world powers.
