Russian military vehicles move along the Garden Ring road prior to the general rehearsal of the Victory Day military parade, to be held at Red Square, in central Moscow on Wednesday — AFP MOSCOW, May 07 (AFP): Chinese President Xi Jinping headed to Moscow on Wednesday for a key three-day visit including a grand Victory Day parade and a show of support for Vladimir Putin.
Moscow and Beijing declared a "no limits partnership" weeks before Putin ordered Russia's Ukraine offensive in February 2022. The expanded military and trade ties since have troubled the West.
The visit comes with rising China-US tensions over biting US trade tariffs, while President Donald Trump has also made overtures to Putin in a bid to mediate the conflict in Ukraine.
In an article for Russia's Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper published Wednesday, Xi hailed "resilient" China-Russia ties and called for other countries to stay out of their relationship.
"The two sides should jointly resist any attempt to interfere with and undermine the China-Russia friendship and mutual trust, not be confused by temporary events or disturbed by the rough seas and use the certainty and resilience of China-Russia strategic cooperation to jointly promote the process of world multipolarisation and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," he wrote.
The Kremlin had a day earlier praised Russia-China relations as a "genuine example" of cooperation and said they were "at their highest point".
It said Putin and Xi will discuss Ukraine and Russia-US relations at a one-to-one meeting.
China's foreign ministry said the leaders will "rally the Global South, shape global governance in the right direction, unequivocally oppose acts of unilateralism and bullying, and jointly promote an equal and orderly multipolar world", state broadcaster CCTV said.
Putin will address the "grandest" ever annual Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday for the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II to rally support for his troops fighting in Ukraine.
Xi is to be the guest of honour at the May 9 parade among 29 other foreign leaders, three of whom come from non-recognised or partially recognised states.
Putin has ordered a three-day ceasefire on the Ukraine frontlines to coincide with the celebrations. Kyiv has dismissed the gesture as an attempt by Moscow to secure the safety of the parade and called for a month-long ceasefire instead.
Ukraine-which has fired drones on Moscow in the days running up to the parade-has said it cannot take responsibility for what happens in Russia. Some countries had approached Kyiv to ask for safety for their leaders attending the parade, it added.
China has sent 102 soldiers-the largest foreign military contingent among the 13 participating nations-for the event.
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