Xi: China and Russia to ‘guard world order’

Xi Jinping said China was ready with Russia “to stand guard over the world order based on international law” as he arrived for a state visit to Moscow days after Vladimir Putin was made the subject of an arrest warrant by the international criminal court.

The Chinese leader is expected to position himself as a potential peacemaker in the Ukraine war during his two-day visit to Russia – his first state visit since Putin’s invasion. For his part, the Russian president will be hoping to project unity in the face of western isolation, as the US condemned Xi for providing “diplomatic cover” for Moscow to continue to commit crimes in Ukraine.

A military brass band greeted Xi yesterday at Vnukovo airport, Moscow, where he was welcomed by Russia’s deputy prime minister for tourism, sport, culture and communications, Dmitry Chernyshenko.

“I am very glad, at the invitation of President

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to come back to the land of our close neighbour on a state visit,” Xi said upon arrival, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency. “I am confident the visit will be fruitful and give new momentum to the healthy and stable development of ChineseRussian relations.”

Xi added that together with Russia, China was “ready to resolutely defend the UN-centric international system, stand guard over the world order based on international law”.

The two leaders spoke briefly to the press at the Kremlin before an “informal meeting”.

Putin told Xi: “We have thoroughly studied your proposals on regulating the acute crisis in Ukraine. Of course, we will have an opportunity to discuss them,” referring to China’s peace plan for the war in Ukraine. “We are always open to negotiations,” the Russian leader added.

Xi in turn praised Putin’s “strong leadership” and said he was sure the Russian people would support him in the presidential elections next year.

The Russian leader has not yet formally announced he is running for president and the Kremlin was quick to deny Xi had inside knowledge about Putin’s plans.

The state-run Ria news agency said yesterday’s informal talks lasted for four and a half hours. The talks were accompanied by a six-course meal that included Russian crepes with quail and mushrooms, fish, and pomegranate sorbet, according to a menu published by a journalist.

Formal talks were scheduled for today, the Kremlin said.

On Friday Putin was made the subject of an arrest warrant by the international criminal court for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children, sending Russia another significant step on the path to becoming a pariah state. On Saturday he made a surprise visit to the occupied city of Mariupol in an apparent show of defiance towards the court and the west.

Washington said Xi’s visit to Moscow soon after the ICC’s court order amounted to Beijing providing “diplomatic cover for Russia to continue to commit” war crimes.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said: “That President Xi is travelling to Russia days after the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin suggests that China feels no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine.”

Russia is framing Xi’s trip, his first since securing an unprecedented third term this month, as proof that it has not been isolated by the global community as the war in Ukraine, now in its 13th month, drags on.

“We are grateful for the balanced line of [China] in connection with the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and true causes. We welcome China’s willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis,” Putin said in an article in China’s People’s Daily published on the Kremlin website on Sunday evening, adding that he had high hopes for the visit from his “good old friend”.

For Xi, the trip comes as he pushes his country to play a more dominant role in global affairs. China last month proposed a 12-point peace plan for dealing with the war, though it did not address key details such as whether Russian troops should withdraw.

In an article in Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily published by the Russian government, Xi called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine. He said China’s peace proposal, largely dismissed by the west, represented “as much as possible the unity of the world community’s views”.

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters yesterday morning that the leaders would discuss the peace plan “one way or another”.

“The topics that figured in this plan will inevitably be touched upon during the exchange of views on Ukraine” between Putin and Xi, Peskov said. “Exhaustive clarifications will be given by President Putin, so that President Xi can get a firsthand view of the current moment from the Russian side,” he added.

Kyiv reiterated its official position that any talks would be contingent on the complete restoration of Ukraine’s territory. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, tweeted: “The formula for the successful implementation of China’s ‘Peace Plan’. The first and main point is the capitulation or withdrawal of the Russian occupation troops.”

Xi is reportedly planning a call with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, after his trip to Moscow.