Why Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s mutual admiration society looks like it’s here to stay
Strongmen leaders expected to enhance cooperation to ensure they have a counterbalance to the US and its allies
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping lost little time in congratulating each other after the Chinese and Russian Presidents both secured another term in office over the weekend – despite the much more reticent response from leading Western nations.
Analysts expect Xi and Putin to enhance their rapport because Beijing and Moscow need each other to act as a counter balance to the United States.
Putin was the first foreign leader to send a congratulatory note to Xi on Saturday less than an hour after Xi received unanimous support from the National People’s Congress to serve a second term as president.
On Monday, Xi returned the favour by congratulating Putin after he received almost 77 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s presidential election – a contest where many of his opponents had been banned from running.
In his message to Putin, Xi said the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia was at “the best level in history” and could set an “example for building a new type of international relations”.