Beijing and Moscow strengthen strategic partnership: Putin arrives in China

(Patria) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in the Chinese port city of Tianjin to participate in the regional security summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which China is using to strengthen resistance to Western influence in international affairs. The summit will be attended by 20 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking the largest gathering of the organisation since its founding in 2001.

China and Russia currently have, according to state television CCTV, "the best relations in history," and the summit is an opportunity to present an alternative to the world order under American influence. A day before arriving in China, Putin, in an interview with Xinhua, sharply criticised Western sanctions and emphasised that Moscow and Beijing stand together against "discriminatory" trade restrictions.

The summit in Tianjin covers issues of security, economy and military cooperation, with leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia attending the event, which China aims to showcase as a demonstration of unity of the "Global South."