'Friends of steel': Xi and Putin pledge to stand together against U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shake hands during a welcoming ceremony before their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI

Wires
May 9, 2025

MOSCOW – Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday their two countries should be "friends of steel," as they pledged to raise cooperation to a new level and "decisively" counter the influence of the United States.

At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the U.S.

In a lengthy joint statement, they said they would deepen relations in all areas, including military ties, and "strengthen coordination in order to decisively counter Washington's course of 'dual containment' of Russia and China."