Within hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Chinese and Russian leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin held a 90-minute telephone conference to “deepen strategic coordination” and look out for each other’s interests in the “current global situation.”
“This year, I am ready, together with you, to elevate Chinese-Russian relations to a new level, to counter external uncertainties by preserving stability and resilience of Chinese-Russian relations,” Xi told Putin, according to a transcript of the call posted by the Kremlin.
Putin responded by praising collaborative projects, such as a pipeline operated by Russia’s national energy company Gazprom that carries natural gas to China.
“Five years ago, we launched the Power of Siberia gas pipeline together, and today, Russia has become the leading supplier of natural gas to China,” Putin boasted.
“I believe that the past year was very good for us. It can be said confidently that our foreign policy ties and Russia and China’s joint efforts objectively play a major stabilizing role in international affairs,” he said.
Putin and Xi were circumspect in avoiding mention of their most aggressive interests, in Ukraine and Taiwan, although the Chinese Communist Party issued a statement applauding Putin for “firmly” supporting China’s claim on Taiwan and opposing “Taiwan independence.”
The two leaders briefly discussed their relationship with Donald Trump, and the Kremlin later claimed both China and Russia wanted to “build relations with the United States on a mutually beneficial, mutually respectful basis, if the Trump team really shows interest in this.”
Trump threatened China with ten percent tariffs on Wednesday, beginning as early as February 1, for “sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada.”
Trump also threatened to impose “high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions” against Russia if Putin did not make a “deal” to end the war in Ukraine.
“We jointly support the development of a more just, multipolar global order, and work to ensure indivisible security in Eurasia and the world as a whole,” Putin told Xi during the call.
“Joint efforts by Russia and China play an important stabilizing role in global affairs,” Putin said. Xi apparently did not call him out for making such an outrageous claim after he destabilized much of the world’s economy and security environment by launching a war of conquest against a neighboring state.
China has stubbornly refused to denounce Putin’s war in Ukraine, although Beijing occasionally pretends to be interested in brokering a ceasefire. China’s money is unquestionably behind Putin and his war, since heavy Chinese purchases of Russian oil became a major source of income for Putin after his European customers abandoned him.
China’s imports of crude oil from Russia hit a record high of 2.17 million barrels per day (bpd) last year. Voracious for fossil fuels, China also buys large amounts of oil from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Iran.
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