Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to talk to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about tensions with the U.S. and NATO over Ukraine during a virtual summit on Wednesday that is expected to further cement their relationship.
The Kremlin said the “aggressive” rhetoric from the U.S. and NATO will be one of the key topics discussed, Reuters reported.
Both Russia and China have expressed frustration over what they see as Washington’s unwanted reach into their own regional issues. Putin has expressed concern about what he sees as a NATO build-up near his own border, while Xi’s government has warned the U.S. not to get involved with its territorial dispute with Taiwan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a video call of the VTB Capital “Russia Calling!” Investment Forum in Moscow, Russia. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
(Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
President Biden warned Putin during a call last week that Russia would face painful sanctions that will do resounding economic harm if it again invaded Ukraine. Last month, Biden Biden and Xi spoke of clear communication as the key to long-term diplomatic relations.
FILE 2016: President Xi Jinping stands in front of national flags of China and Republic of Congo during a meeting with visting Congolese dignitaries at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool, File)
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool, File)
“Right now, both China and the United States are at critical stages of development, and humanity lives in a global village, and we face multiple challenges together,” Xi said.
Biden called for the establishment of “common sense guardrails” to prevent disputes from escalating to conflict and for collaboration on climate change and other “vital global issues.”
Fox News’ Thomas Barrabi and the Associated Press contributed to this report
