Xi vows to promote world peace in New Year message to Putin

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to promote "world peace" in a New Year message to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, state media reported.
"No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain steadfast in further deepening comprehensive reform ... and promoting world peace and development," Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
After Putin's full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, China has sought to present itself as a neutral country, unlike the United States and other Western countries. But it remains a close political and economic partner of Russia, prompting some NATO members to brand Beijing as a "facilitator" of the war, which Beijing has never condemned.
According to CCTV, Xi told Putin, "In the face of rapidly developing changes unseen in a century and the turbulent international situation, China and Russia are consistently moving forward hand in hand on the right path of non-alignment, non-alignment and non-confrontation with a third country."
The two presidents share a strong personal bond, with Xi calling his Russian counterpart his "best friend" and Putin cherishing his "reliable partner." Their relationship has endured despite a decade of growing friction with Western countries, exemplified by Russia's war in Ukraine.
Xi remarked to Putin that 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, "which represents a new important milestone in relations between the two countries." "After three-quarters of a century of ups and downs, China-Russia relations are becoming more mature and stable," Xi was quoted as saying by CCTV. | BGNES, AFP