The Vladimir Putin of Russia and Chinese Xinping begin on talks in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin launched bilateral talks in Beijing, on the eve of a massive military parade in the Chinese capital.

Putin praised relations between countries, saying that they were at an “unprecedented level”.

“Dear friend, me and the whole Russian delegation are happy to meet with us again with our Chinese friends and colleagues,” Putin told Xi, according to a video published on the official Kremlin Telegram messaging application.

“Our close communication reflects the strategic nature of Russia-China’s relationships, which are at an unprecedented level,” he added.

“We were still together at the time, and we stay together now.”

XI told Putin that “Chinese -Russia relations resisted the test of international changes” – adding that Beijing was willing to work with Moscow to “promote the construction of a fairer and reasonable global governance system”.

On Wednesday, XI should host the largest Chinese military parade, which will mark the 80th anniversary of the Japanese surrender to China at the end of the Second World War.

In May, XI also visited Moscow for Russia celebrations to mark the defeat of the Nazis.

This week’s meetings occur at a time when Xi seeks to project the power of Beijing on the international scene – not only as the second world economy, but also as a diplomatic heavy goods vehicle.

XI stressed the role of China as a stable trading partner while the prices of US President Donald Trump have turned economic relations around the world.

Now, while an agreement with the Russian leader to end the war in Ukraine continues to escape Trump, Putin’s welcome from Putin to Beijing demonstrates their close ties.

The couple previously praised their country’s relationship as a “limitless friendship”.

XI and Putin criticized Western governments at the summit on Monday, Xi slamming “intimidation” of certain countries – an apparent veiled reference in the United States – while Putin defended the offensive of Ukraine in Russia and blamed the West for having triggered the conflict.

The two leaders met on Tuesday in the great hall of the Pekin people, the Chinese state diffuser CCTV reported.

The talks followed the summit of the Shanghai cooperation organization (SCO) that XI organized in Tianjin nearby Sunday and Monday, where he urged members to “oppose the thought of the Cold War, the confrontation of the block and the intimidation behavior”.

Putin said that the summit – which was also followed by world leaders from India, Iran and Pakistan – had thrown the foundations for a new system to replace “EUROCENTRICS AND EURO -ATLANTICS obsolete”.

The head of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, will also attend the military parade on Wednesday, in what will be a historic visit, after having crossed the border in China on his special train early on Tuesday.

This is the first multilateral international meeting of Kim. It is also the first time in decades that a North Korean chief will attend a Chinese military parade-the last time it happened, it was when Kim’s grandfather, the founder of North Korea Kim Il-Sung, attended in 1959.

Most Western leaders should not appear to the parade, due to their opposition to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which led to the sanctions against the Putin regime.

Beijing, however, did not criticize Putin’s war. It was accused by the United States and its allies of helping Russia ‘war effort – that Beijing denies – by its supply of double -use materials and purchases of Russian oil.

Kim provided both weapons and troops to the Russian invasion.