Chinese Defense&nbsp;Minister Gen. Li Shangfu will visit Russia next week along with the Chinese State Councilor on an official four-day visit to the country. Gen. Li will be meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and other military officials, China’s Defense Ministry said Friday.&nbsp;

Senior Col. Tan Kefei, the spokesman for China's Defense Ministry, told a press briefing in Beijing that during his trip, Li will meet and hold talks with Russian military leaders, and visit military academies.

Li’s visit to Russia lays emphasis on China’s bolstering relations with Russia, which is largely aligned with their foreign policy towards reshaping the world order to diminish the US influence. China’s support of Russia is clear from its refusal to criticise Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. It has instead blamed the US and NATA for provoking Moscow.&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/middle-east/in-first-irans-president-addresses-palestinians-in-gaza-vows-full-support-for-resistance-582706">In first, Iran's President addresses Palestinians in Gaza, vows full support for resistance</a>

During a 2022 visit to Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a joint statement declaring a “no limits” relationship between the two nations.&nbsp;

The trip follows Xi's official visit to Moscow last month, during which he emphasised how China is gradually becoming the relationship's senior partner, providing Russia with diplomatic cover and an economic lifeline during its war in Ukraine.

Officially, however, China remains neutral in the conflict and has yet to offer a full-throated endorsement of Russia’s actions.

While Moscow and Beijing have indicated they will strengthen military contacts and hold more combined sea and air patrols and drills, China's foreign minister said Friday that China will not assist Russia with weapons, as feared by the US and other Western allies.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;China's Defence Minister to visit Russia from April 16 to 19 | WION Speed News

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“Sino-Russian military relations have continued to operate at a high level, and new progress has been made,” Tan was quoted as saying in a ministry news release announcing Li’s visit.

The “China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era” has been enriched by “strategic communication, joint exercises and practical cooperation” at the military level, Tan said.

Military power in China is concentrated in the ruling Communist Party’s Military Affairs Commission led by Xi and two vice-chairs.

Li, a trained aerospace engineer, is subject to US penalties as a result of Chinese purchases of Russian fighter jets and air defence weapons. At the annual gathering of China's ceremonial legislature in March, he was appointed minister.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
 
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Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu will visit Russia next week along with the Chinese State Councilor on an official four-day visit to the country. Gen. Li will be meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and other military officials, China’s Defense Ministry said Friday.

Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu will visit Russia next week along with the Chinese State Councilor on an official four-day visit to the country. Gen. Li will be meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and other military officials, China’s Defense Ministry said Friday. Senior Col. Tan Kefei, the spokesman for China's Defense Ministry, told a press briefing in Beijing that during his trip, Li will meet and hold talks with Russian military leaders, and visit military academies. Li’s visit to Russia lays emphasis on China’s bolstering relations with Russia, which is largely aligned with their foreign policy towards reshaping the world order to diminish the US influence. China’s support of Russia is clear from its refusal to criticise Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. It has instead blamed the US and NATA for provoking Moscow. Also Read | In first, Iran's President addresses Palestinians in Gaza, vows full support for resistance During a 2022 visit to Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a joint statement declaring a “no limits” relationship between the two nations. The trip follows Xi's official visit to Moscow last month, during which he emphasised how China is gradually becoming the relationship's senior partner, providing Russia with diplomatic cover and an economic lifeline during its war in Ukraine. Officially, however, China remains neutral in the conflict and has yet to offer a full-throated endorsement of Russia’s actions. While Moscow and Beijing have indicated they will strengthen military contacts and hold more combined sea and air patrols and drills, China's foreign minister said Friday that China will not assist Russia with weapons, as feared by the US and other Western allies. Watch | China's Defence Minister to visit Russia from April 16 to 19 | WION Speed News × “Sino-Russian military relations have continued to operate at a high level, and new progress has been made,” Tan was quoted as saying in a ministry news release announcing Li’s visit. The “China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era” has been enriched by “strategic communication, joint exercises and practical cooperation” at the military level, Tan said. Military power in China is concentrated in the ruling Communist Party’s Military Affairs Commission led by Xi and two vice-chairs. Li, a trained aerospace engineer, is subject to US penalties as a result of Chinese purchases of Russian fighter jets and air defence weapons. At the annual gathering of China's ceremonial legislature in March, he was appointed minister. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

China’s new defence minister to meet Russian counterpart for first time since war in Ukraine

Hours after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Chinese Communist Party tabloid, Global Times, posted a video saying that a large number of Ukrainian soldiers had laid down their arms. Its source: the Russian state-controlled television network, RT.

Two days later, China’s state broadcaster Central Television Station (CCTV) flashed a breaking news alert, quoting Russia’s parliamentary speaker, that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine had fled Kyiv. CCTV then created a related hashtag on the Twitter-like platform Weibo that was viewed 510 million times and used by 163 media outlets in the country.

On Feb. 28, as Russia became an international pariah, the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik shared a message of strength with its 11 million Weibo followers. The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Sputnik said, said Russia still had friends in the world, especially “a real giant” like China.

“Add oil, Russia,” Sputnik’s Weibo follower @fengyiqing cheered on, using a Chinese expression of support. “All the people in the world who love justice are friends of Russia.”

As European and American officials press Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and other online platforms to clamp down on Russian disinformation, China has embraced Russia’s propaganda and lies about the war. China’s state-owned media outlets quoted their Russian counterparts’ coverage without verification, helping to magnify their disinformation on the Chinese internet. They put Russian officials on state television networks with little pushback on their claims.

When it comes to information, the Chinese government is a control freak, dictating and censoring what its 1.4 billion people consume. Beijing has silenced and jailed its critics and journalists. It has coerced and co-opted the biggest Chinese online platforms to enforce its censorship guidelines. It blocks nearly all major western news and information websites, including Google, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC.

Yet as the world faces one of its most serious geopolitical crises since the end of the Cold War, China let down its digital defenses and allowed the Kremlin’s propaganda machine to help shape public perception of the war. No wonder the Chinese internet is overwhelmingly pro-Russia, pro-war and pro-Putin.

If China wants to remain officially ambiguous about whether it supports Vladimir Putin’s war — refusing to call it an invasion and abstaining from a U.N. vote to condemn the invasion — its state-controlled media nonetheless makes very clear where China stands.

The China-Russia information alliance is forged over a shared worldview of two leaders, Xi Jinping and Putin, who, out of deep distrust of the United States, are determined to challenge the West’s dominance in the competition for public opinion.

In a 2013 speech, Xi urged the country’s propaganda workers to enhance the country’s “international discourse power” under the notion of “telling China’s story well.” During a visit to RT’s headquarters in the same year, Putin said the network was created to “break the Anglo-Saxon monopoly on the global information streams.”

In 2015, Xi and Putin decided the two countries should strengthen their cooperation in media. Since then, they have held a Sino-Russian media forum each year, aiming to “redefine the map of the international discourse.”

Last November, an RT executive said at the forum that major Chinese media outlets quoted RT.com on average 2,500 times a week in 2021.

Many Chinese media organizations admire RT and Sputnik, which they believe have broken the West’s information monopoly, or at least muddied the water. Many media experts have analyzed what China’s state-owned media could learn from their successes. One academic paper detailed RT’s coverage of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 to illustrate how the Russian network carefully planned its reporting strategy to increase its seeming credibility and accessibility so it could set its own agenda.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin’s media machines worked well in China. Combined with Beijing’s censorship of pro-Ukraine content, they wove a web of disinformation that proved difficult for most Chinese online users to escape.

The message they are trying to drive home: Russia’s military actions are anti-West, anti-NATO expansion and anti-Nazi — thus justified and popular.

In China’s state media, there is very little about the international condemnation of Russia; Ukraine’s success in the battle for public opinion, led by Zelenskyy; or anti-war protests in Russia.

The one-two punch is working, keeping the Chinese public from facts while sowing confusion.

On the Chinese social media platforms, many people adopted Putin’s and Russian media’s language, calling the Ukrainian side extremists and neo-Nazis.

They kept bringing up the Azov Battalion as if it represented all of Ukraine. The battalion, a unit of the Ukrainian national guard, is known for having neo-Nazi sympathizers but remains a fringe presence in the country and its military.

Zelenskyy himself is Jewish and won the presidential election in 2019 with 73% of the vote. His approval rate soared to over 90% recently for his wartime leadership.

The fog of disinformation thickens when Chinese state media portrays Russia’s war as an anti-fascism effort. After Russia’s defense minister announced this week that his country would host the first international anti-fascism conference in August, the CCTV posted a one-paragraph story, then created a Weibo hashtag. Within 24 hours, it had 650 million views and was used by 90 media outlets. Many commenters called Ukraine and the United States fascist countries.

Chinese media is also propagating Russian disinformation that Ukraine has been using civilians as human shields. In its prime-time news program on Feb. 26, CCTV quoted Putin as making that allegation. A few days later the nationalistic news site, guancha.com, ran a banner headline that said the Russian military was going only after military targets, while the Ukrainian military was using civilians as human shields.

Taken collectively, Chinese online users are seeing a quite different war from much of the world.

While videos circulated outside China purportedly showing Ukrainians’ kind treatment of Russian prisoners of war, the trending social media topic in China was that captured Russians had endured Nazi-like torture. Both CCTV and the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, created hashtags echoing the same, based on a briefing by the Russian defense ministry. They had combined views of more than 200 million.

Sputnik, with 11.6 million followers on Weibo, has been posting more than 100 items a day lately, populating its timeline with words like “criminal Zelenskyy,” “empire of lies,” “fake news” and “Nazi.”

“We must stand with Russia!” Weibo user @qingdaoxiaowangzi commented on one of Sputnik’s posts, using a popular line on the Chinese internet. “If Russia falls, NATO and the neo-Nazi United States will bully China!”

At the same time, Weibo and other platforms are censoring pro-Ukraine content. The Weibo account of actor Ke Lan, which has 2.9 million followers, was suspended after she retweeted a video and a photo about an anti-war protest in Russia. So was the account of a transgender celebrity, Jin Xing, with 13.6 million followers. “Respect all lives and resolutely oppose the war!!!” her last post said.

But as the war continues and China recalibrates its position, some Chinese online users have begun to scrutinize the Russian news media reports. Under a Sputnik Weibo post contending that the Ukrainian military murdered civilians, a user with the handle @jialalabadededashen wrote, “Is this another news item that was tailor made by the Russian news agency for China?”

In a social media discussion, some people called out Russia for waging an information war in China. “Russia’s external propaganda has infiltrated China out-and-out,” wrote a Weibo user called @juediqiangshou. “That’s why all the excuses to justify the invasion are popular here.”

Some people are also raising questions about whether the flood of pro-Russia information would be detrimental to the interests of China and its people.

Even Wang Xiaodong, a famous nationalist writer, suggested on Weibo that the Russia-Ukraine war was more complicated than it seemed. “The Chinese people should have access to comprehensive and diversified information,” he wrote Wednesday. 
&nbsp;

Hours after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Chinese Communist Party tabloid, Global Times, posted a video saying that a large number of Ukrainian soldiers had laid down their arms.

Hours after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Chinese Communist Party tabloid, Global Times, posted a video saying that a large number of Ukrainian soldiers had laid down their arms. Its source: the Russian state-controlled television network, RT. Two days later, China’s state broadcaster Central Television Station (CCTV) flashed a breaking news alert, quoting Russia’s parliamentary speaker, that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine had fled Kyiv. CCTV then created a related hashtag on the Twitter-like platform Weibo that was viewed 510 million times and used by 163 media outlets in the country. On Feb. 28, as Russia became an international pariah, the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik shared a message of strength with its 11 million Weibo followers. The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Sputnik said, said Russia still had friends in the world, especially “a real giant” like China. “Add oil, Russia,” Sputnik’s Weibo follower @fengyiqing cheered on, using a Chinese expression of support. “All the people in the world who love justice are friends of Russia.” As European and American officials press Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and other online platforms to clamp down on Russian disinformation, China has embraced Russia’s propaganda and lies about the war. China’s state-owned media outlets quoted their Russian counterparts’ coverage without verification, helping to magnify their disinformation on the Chinese internet. They put Russian officials on state television networks with little pushback on their claims. When it comes to information, the Chinese government is a control freak, dictating and censoring what its 1.4 billion people consume. Beijing has silenced and jailed its critics and journalists. It has coerced and co-opted the biggest Chinese online platforms to enforce its censorship guidelines. It blocks nearly all major western news and information websites, including Google, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC. Yet as the world faces one of its most serious geopolitical crises since the end of the Cold War, China let down its digital defenses and allowed the Kremlin’s propaganda machine to help shape public perception of the war. No wonder the Chinese internet is overwhelmingly pro-Russia, pro-war and pro-Putin. If China wants to remain officially ambiguous about whether it supports Vladimir Putin’s war — refusing to call it an invasion and abstaining from a U.N. vote to condemn the invasion — its state-controlled media nonetheless makes very clear where China stands. The China-Russia information alliance is forged over a shared worldview of two leaders, Xi Jinping and Putin, who, out of deep distrust of the United States, are determined to challenge the West’s dominance in the competition for public opinion. In a 2013 speech, Xi urged the country’s propaganda workers to enhance the country’s “international discourse power” under the notion of “telling China’s story well.” During a visit to RT’s headquarters in the same year, Putin said the network was created to “break the Anglo-Saxon monopoly on the global information streams.” In 2015, Xi and Putin decided the two countries should strengthen their cooperation in media. Since then, they have held a Sino-Russian media forum each year, aiming to “redefine the map of the international discourse.” Last November, an RT executive said at the forum that major Chinese media outlets quoted RT.com on average 2,500 times a week in 2021. Many Chinese media organizations admire RT and Sputnik, which they believe have broken the West’s information monopoly, or at least muddied the water. Many media experts have analyzed what China’s state-owned media could learn from their successes. One academic paper detailed RT’s coverage of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 to illustrate how the Russian network carefully planned its reporting strategy to increase its seeming credibility and accessibility so it could set its own agenda. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin’s media machines worked well in China. Combined with Beijing’s censorship of pro-Ukraine content, they wove a web of disinformation that proved difficult for most Chinese online users to escape. The message they are trying to drive home: Russia’s military actions are anti-West, anti-NATO expansion and anti-Nazi — thus justified and popular. In China’s state media, there is very little about the international condemnation of Russia; Ukraine’s success in the battle for public opinion, led by Zelenskyy; or anti-war protests in Russia. The one-two punch is working, keeping the Chinese public from facts while sowing confusion. On the Chinese social media platforms, many people adopted Putin’s and Russian media’s language, calling the Ukrainian side extremists and neo-Nazis. They kept bringing up the Azov Battalion as if it represented all of Ukraine. The battalion, a unit of the Ukrainian national guard, is known for having neo-Nazi sympathizers but remains a fringe presence in the country and its military. Zelenskyy himself is Jewish and won the presidential election in 2019 with 73% of the vote. His approval rate soared to over 90% recently for his wartime leadership. The fog of disinformation thickens when Chinese state media portrays Russia’s war as an anti-fascism effort. After Russia’s defense minister announced this week that his country would host the first international anti-fascism conference in August, the CCTV posted a one-paragraph story, then created a Weibo hashtag. Within 24 hours, it had 650 million views and was used by 90 media outlets. Many commenters called Ukraine and the United States fascist countries. Chinese media is also propagating Russian disinformation that Ukraine has been using civilians as human shields. In its prime-time news program on Feb. 26, CCTV quoted Putin as making that allegation. A few days later the nationalistic news site, guancha.com, ran a banner headline that said the Russian military was going only after military targets, while the Ukrainian military was using civilians as human shields. Taken collectively, Chinese online users are seeing a quite different war from much of the world. While videos circulated outside China purportedly showing Ukrainians’ kind treatment of Russian prisoners of war, the trending social media topic in China was that captured Russians had endured Nazi-like torture. Both CCTV and the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, created hashtags echoing the same, based on a briefing by the Russian defense ministry. They had combined views of more than 200 million. Sputnik, with 11.6 million followers on Weibo, has been posting more than 100 items a day lately, populating its timeline with words like “criminal Zelenskyy,” “empire of lies,” “fake news” and “Nazi.” “We must stand with Russia!” Weibo user @qingdaoxiaowangzi commented on one of Sputnik’s posts, using a popular line on the Chinese internet. “If Russia falls, NATO and the neo-Nazi United States will bully China!” At the same time, Weibo and other platforms are censoring pro-Ukraine content. The Weibo account of actor Ke Lan, which has 2.9 million followers, was suspended after she retweeted a video and a photo about an anti-war protest in Russia. So was the account of a transgender celebrity, Jin Xing, with 13.6 million followers. “Respect all lives and resolutely oppose the war!!!” her last post said. But as the war continues and China recalibrates its position, some Chinese online users have begun to scrutinize the Russian news media reports. Under a Sputnik Weibo post contending that the Ukrainian military murdered civilians, a user with the handle @jialalabadededashen wrote, “Is this another news item that was tailor made by the Russian news agency for China?” In a social media discussion, some people called out Russia for waging an information war in China. “Russia’s external propaganda has infiltrated China out-and-out,” wrote a Weibo user called @juediqiangshou. “That’s why all the excuses to justify the invasion are popular here.” Some people are also raising questions about whether the flood of pro-Russia information would be detrimental to the interests of China and its people. Even Wang Xiaodong, a famous nationalist writer, suggested on Weibo that the Russia-Ukraine war was more complicated than it seemed. “The Chinese people should have access to comprehensive and diversified information,” he wrote Wednesday.

How China embraces Russian propaganda and its version of the war

China on Wednesday suggested how Russia and Ukraine can make peace and put an end to the crisis that shaken up the whole world.

China’s permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun said Moscow and Kyiv’s top officials must sit down at the negotiating table to establish a path to de-escalating aggression.

“The most important thing right now is to return to the track of diplomatic negotiations and [create] a political settlement as soon as possible to help de-escalate the situation,” he claimed.

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According to the diplomat, “China supports direct dialogue and negotiation between Russia and Ukraine,” which he insists is the definitive way to resolve the conflict. Zhang also said that the international community should “prioritize regional peace, stability and the universal security for all.”

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during his briefing on Wednesday, ''China and Ukraine are keeping an open communications channel.''

It comes after Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba talked to his Chinese counterpart and he “appealed to the Chinese foreign minister to take advantage of their leverage on Putin, of their relations with Russia, and urge Putin to stop this war immediately.”&nbsp;

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/which-assets-of-russian-president-vladimir-putin-can-be-seized-due-to-ukraine-invasion-458127" hreflang="en">Which assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin can be seized due to Ukraine invasion?</a>

The Ukrainian top diplomat said that “constructive involvement of China is possible” and pointed to China’s abstention from a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;

China is the only friend that might help Russia blunt the impact of economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but President Xi Jinping’s government is giving no sign it might be willing to risk its own access to US&nbsp;and European markets by doing too much.

Even if Beijing wanted to, its ability to support President Vladimir Putin by importing more Russian gas and other goods is limited.

Relations with Moscow have warmed since Xi took power in 2012, motivated by shared resentment of Washington, but their interests can conflict. While their militaries hold joint exercises, Putin is uneasy about the growing Chinese economic presence in Central Asia and Russia’s Far East.

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/here-is-a-look-at-putins-family-who-are-reportedly-hiding-in-a-secret-siberian-underground-bunker-458145" hreflang="en">Here is a look at Putin's family, who are reportedly hiding in a secret Siberian underground bunker</a>

“China-Russia relations are at the highest level in history, but the two countries are not an alliance,” said Li Xin, an international relations expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

Xi’s government might support Putin within those limits,&nbsp;and Chinese companies might use the situation to pursue better deal,&nbsp;but will balk at openly violating sanctions and being targeted for penalties, experts said.

“China doesn’t want to get so involved that it ends up suffering as a result of its support for Russia,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist for Capital Economics.

Chinese trade with Russia rose to $146.9 billion last year, but that is less than one-tenth of China’s total $1.6 trillion in trade with the United States and EU.

“It all hinges on whether they’re willing to risk their access to Western markets to help Russia, and I don’t think they are,” said Williams. “It’s just not that big a market.”

China, the world’s second-largest economy, is the only major government not to have condemned the invasion.

(With inputs from agencies)

China on Wednesday suggested how Russia and Ukraine can make peace and put an end to the crisis that shaken up the whole world. China’s permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun said Moscow and Kyiv’s top officials must sit down at the negotiating table to establish a path to de-escalating aggression.

China on Wednesday suggested how Russia and Ukraine can make peace and put an end to the crisis that shaken up the whole world. China’s permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun said Moscow and Kyiv’s top officials must sit down at the negotiating table to establish a path to de-escalating aggression. “The most important thing right now is to return to the track of diplomatic negotiations and [create] a political settlement as soon as possible to help de-escalate the situation,” he claimed. According to the diplomat, “China supports direct dialogue and negotiation between Russia and Ukraine,” which he insists is the definitive way to resolve the conflict. Zhang also said that the international community should “prioritize regional peace, stability and the universal security for all.” Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during his briefing on Wednesday, ''China and Ukraine are keeping an open communications channel.'' It comes after Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba talked to his Chinese counterpart and he “appealed to the Chinese foreign minister to take advantage of their leverage on Putin, of their relations with Russia, and urge Putin to stop this war immediately.” Also see | Which assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin can be seized due to Ukraine invasion? The Ukrainian top diplomat said that “constructive involvement of China is possible” and pointed to China’s abstention from a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China is the only friend that might help Russia blunt the impact of economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but President Xi Jinping’s government is giving no sign it might be willing to risk its own access to US and European markets by doing too much. Even if Beijing wanted to, its ability to support President Vladimir Putin by importing more Russian gas and other goods is limited. Relations with Moscow have warmed since Xi took power in 2012, motivated by shared resentment of Washington, but their interests can conflict. While their militaries hold joint exercises, Putin is uneasy about the growing Chinese economic presence in Central Asia and Russia’s Far East. Also see | Here is a look at Putin's family, who are reportedly hiding in a secret Siberian underground bunker “China-Russia relations are at the highest level in history, but the two countries are not an alliance,” said Li Xin, an international relations expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. Xi’s government might support Putin within those limits, and Chinese companies might use the situation to pursue better deal, but will balk at openly violating sanctions and being targeted for penalties, experts said. “China doesn’t want to get so involved that it ends up suffering as a result of its support for Russia,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist for Capital Economics. Chinese trade with Russia rose to $146.9 billion last year, but that is less than one-tenth of China’s total $1.6 trillion in trade with the United States and EU. “It all hinges on whether they’re willing to risk their access to Western markets to help Russia, and I don’t think they are,” said Williams. “It’s just not that big a market.” China, the world’s second-largest economy, is the only major government not to have condemned the invasion. (With inputs from agencies)

China suggests this is the 'most important thing' that can end conflict between Russia and Ukraine

Over 50 per cent of the Chinese population believes that Russia is the country's most important ally, according to a poll published in state-run the&nbsp;Global Times newspaper.

The poll was&nbsp;found that&nbsp;nearly 2,000 respondents are writing off China's better relations with the United States.

There was a sharp reduction in the number of people saying that ties with the US had the biggest impact on China, dropping to only 47.5 per cent, compared to 82.1 per cent when the question was asked last year.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-message-to-us-xi-jinping-says-china-russia-ties-will-not-be-broken-353156">In message to US, Xi Jinping says China-Russia ties will not be broken</a>

It comes after&nbsp;Chinese President Xi Jinping&nbsp;said that his country's&nbsp;ties to Russia will&nbsp;weather all kinds of international crises.

In a clear message to US President-elect Joe Biden, Jinping had highlighted&nbsp;the ''strong individual value'' of the China-Russia relationship.

Beijing has become the most significant commercial partner for Moscow, and the country is the leading destination for the export of Russian commodities, and a source of more than $56 trillion in imports.&nbsp;

Experts believe&nbsp;shared political obstacles with the EU and the US appear to be playing a role in the two nations stepping towards closer and closer political ties.

Over 50 per cent of the Chinese population believes that Russia is the country's most important ally, according to a poll published in state-run the Global Times newspaper.

Over 50 per cent of the Chinese population believes that Russia is the country's most important ally, according to a poll published in state-run the Global Times newspaper. The poll was found that nearly 2,000 respondents are writing off China's better relations with the United States. There was a sharp reduction in the number of people saying that ties with the US had the biggest impact on China, dropping to only 47.5 per cent, compared to 82.1 per cent when the question was asked last year. Also read: In message to US, Xi Jinping says China-Russia ties will not be broken It comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping said that his country's ties to Russia will weather all kinds of international crises. In a clear message to US President-elect Joe Biden, Jinping had highlighted the ''strong individual value'' of the China-Russia relationship. Beijing has become the most significant commercial partner for Moscow, and the country is the leading destination for the export of Russian commodities, and a source of more than $56 trillion in imports. Experts believe shared political obstacles with the EU and the US appear to be playing a role in the two nations stepping towards closer and closer political ties.

Over half of Chinese population believes Russia is its most important ally

In a clear signal to the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that his country's&nbsp;ties to Russia will&nbsp;weather all kinds of international crises.

Highlighting the ''strong individual value'' of the China-Russia relationship, Jinping told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin&nbsp;“China is willing to unswervingly develop the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia in the new era.”

A&nbsp;Chinese foreign ministry statement quoted Xi as saying&nbsp;“Sino-Russian relations are not affected by changes in the international situation or interference by any other factors. Strengthening strategic cooperation between China and Russia can effectively resist any attempt to suppress and divide the two countries.”

Jinping's remarks come as China pushes to consolidate its ties with other nations ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20.

An investment deal between China and the European Union is also expected to wrap up soon after seven years of talks.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin&nbsp;hailed the China-Russia Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation as an important milestone in bilateral relations, adding that Russia will continue staying committed to pushing forward the high-level development of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.&nbsp;

Putin said he hopes the two countries can continue to support each other on issues of major concern and enhance strategic coordination and cooperation in international affairs to make contributions to global stability.&nbsp;

'Systematic rival'

While Donald Trump's administration has engaged in a war of words with Beijing, Brussels has taken a balanced approach.

The EU states treat China as a "systemic rival" and have expressed concerns over China's rights record, especially its clampdown in Hong Kong and treatment of the Uighurs.&nbsp;

Berlin wanted to get the agreement signed off at a joint EU-China summit in September, but the coronavirus pushed the event online and no deal was signed.

China pushed past the United States in the third quarter of this year to become the EU's top trade partner, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the US economy while Chinese activity rebounded.

In a clear signal to the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that his country's ties to Russia will weather all kinds of international crises. Highlighting the ''strong individual value'' of the China-Russia relationship, Jinping told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “China is willing to unswervingly develop the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia in the new era.

In a clear signal to the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that his country's ties to Russia will weather all kinds of international crises. Highlighting the ''strong individual value'' of the China-Russia relationship, Jinping told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “China is willing to unswervingly develop the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia in the new era.” A Chinese foreign ministry statement quoted Xi as saying “Sino-Russian relations are not affected by changes in the international situation or interference by any other factors. Strengthening strategic cooperation between China and Russia can effectively resist any attempt to suppress and divide the two countries.” Jinping's remarks come as China pushes to consolidate its ties with other nations ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20. An investment deal between China and the European Union is also expected to wrap up soon after seven years of talks. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the China-Russia Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation as an important milestone in bilateral relations, adding that Russia will continue staying committed to pushing forward the high-level development of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. Putin said he hopes the two countries can continue to support each other on issues of major concern and enhance strategic coordination and cooperation in international affairs to make contributions to global stability. 'Systematic rival' While Donald Trump's administration has engaged in a war of words with Beijing, Brussels has taken a balanced approach. The EU states treat China as a "systemic rival" and have expressed concerns over China's rights record, especially its clampdown in Hong Kong and treatment of the Uighurs. Berlin wanted to get the agreement signed off at a joint EU-China summit in September, but the coronavirus pushed the event online and no deal was signed. China pushed past the United States in the third quarter of this year to become the EU's top trade partner, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the US economy while Chinese activity rebounded.

In message to US, Xi Jinping says China-Russia ties will not be broken

In a move to cement energy security, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a natural gas pipeline linking Siberia to northeast China.

"This is a genuinely historic event not only for the global energy market but above all for us, for Russia and China," Putin said via a video link in Sochi.

"This step takes Russo-Chinese strategic cooperation in energy to a qualitative new level and brings us closer to (fulfilling) the task, set together with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, of taking bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2024," the Russian president added.

The new pipeline also called "Power of Siberia" pipeline will start from the Russian border in Heilongjiang and will link China's northeastern province&nbsp;Jilin and Liaoning.

Xi said it was "a landmark project of bilateral energy cooperation" and an "example of deep integration and mutually beneficial cooperation".

Russia is in fact set to boost gas trade by supplying to European countries - its principal market, while trying to set up its gas commerce elsewhere.

In January, Russia and Turkey will launch the TurkStream while Nord Stream-2 will boost gas output with Germany next year.

Ahead of the opening of the Siberia pipeline, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said that the significance of the pipeline was hard to overestimate.

The pipeline will be fully operational in 2025.

Russian giant Gazprom will be supplying China with 38 billion cubic metres of gas annually through "swampy, mountainous, seismically active, permafrost and rocky areas with extreme environmental conditions", the Russian gas company said,&nbsp;with temperatures in the region often falling below 60 degrees Celsius.

Chinese vice foreign minister Le Yucheng said the pipeline would boost cooperation and allow the two countries "to complement each other's strengths and pursue common rejuvenation."

In a move to cement energy security, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a natural gas pipeline linking Siberia to northeast China.

In a move to cement energy security, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a natural gas pipeline linking Siberia to northeast China. "This is a genuinely historic event not only for the global energy market but above all for us, for Russia and China," Putin said via a video link in Sochi. "This step takes Russo-Chinese strategic cooperation in energy to a qualitative new level and brings us closer to (fulfilling) the task, set together with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, of taking bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2024," the Russian president added. The new pipeline also called "Power of Siberia" pipeline will start from the Russian border in Heilongjiang and will link China's northeastern province Jilin and Liaoning. Xi said it was "a landmark project of bilateral energy cooperation" and an "example of deep integration and mutually beneficial cooperation". Russia is in fact set to boost gas trade by supplying to European countries - its principal market, while trying to set up its gas commerce elsewhere. In January, Russia and Turkey will launch the TurkStream while Nord Stream-2 will boost gas output with Germany next year. Ahead of the opening of the Siberia pipeline, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said that the significance of the pipeline was hard to overestimate. The pipeline will be fully operational in 2025. Russian giant Gazprom will be supplying China with 38 billion cubic metres of gas annually through "swampy, mountainous, seismically active, permafrost and rocky areas with extreme environmental conditions", the Russian gas company said, with temperatures in the region often falling below 60 degrees Celsius. Chinese vice foreign minister Le Yucheng said the pipeline would boost cooperation and allow the two countries "to complement each other's strengths and pursue common rejuvenation."

Putin, Xi inaugurate 'Power of Siberia' pipeline to boost energy ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged New Year greetings on Monday.

In his congratulatory message to Putin, Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, extended sincere greetings and good wishes to President Putin and the Russian people.

He said that the year 2018 has a special significance to China-Russia relations, and both countries have smoothly completed their respective important domestic political agendas and opened a new era for China-Russia ties.

During the year, China and Russia witnessed more frequent high-level exchanges, deepened mutual political trust and a series of achievements from bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields, Xi said.

The Year of China-Russia Local Cooperation and Exchange program proceeded smoothly in 2018, and the popular support for friendship from generation to generation between the two peoples has been further consolidated, the Chinese president said.

The two countries collaborated actively in international and regional affairs and played important constructive roles in safeguarding international equity and justice as well as world peace and stability, he said.

The year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, Xi said, noting that he is willing to work with Putin to prompt bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields to make new progress and bring more benefits to the two countries and peoples.

In his congratulatory message, Putin extended warm New Year greetings to Xi, and wished the Chinese people happiness and good health.

In 2018, the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination reached an unprecedented level with substantiated political dialogues and rapidly expanding two-way trade, Putin said.

The Year of China-Russia Local Cooperation and Exchange got off to a good start, and the two countries conducted fruitful cooperation in solving major global and regional issues, he said.

Russia and China will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2019, the Russian president said, voicing his belief that both sides will take the opportunity to continue effective cooperation in bilateral and multilateral affairs.

Also on Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev exchanged New Year greetings.

In his congratulatory message, Li said China would like to promote cooperation with Russia in trade, energy, finance, technology, agriculture, humanities and other areas to facilitate common development of both nations.

For his part, Medvedev said that Russia highly values the achievements of the 23rd regular meeting between Chinese and Russian heads of government, and is willing to work actively with China to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Xi Jinping said that the year 2018 has a special significance to China-Russia relations, and both countries have smoothly completed their respective important domestic political agendas.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged New Year greetings on Monday. In his congratulatory message to Putin, Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, extended sincere greetings and good wishes to President Putin and the Russian people. He said that the year 2018 has a special significance to China-Russia relations, and both countries have smoothly completed their respective important domestic political agendas and opened a new era for China-Russia ties. During the year, China and Russia witnessed more frequent high-level exchanges, deepened mutual political trust and a series of achievements from bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields, Xi said. The Year of China-Russia Local Cooperation and Exchange program proceeded smoothly in 2018, and the popular support for friendship from generation to generation between the two peoples has been further consolidated, the Chinese president said. The two countries collaborated actively in international and regional affairs and played important constructive roles in safeguarding international equity and justice as well as world peace and stability, he said. The year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, Xi said, noting that he is willing to work with Putin to prompt bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields to make new progress and bring more benefits to the two countries and peoples. In his congratulatory message, Putin extended warm New Year greetings to Xi, and wished the Chinese people happiness and good health. In 2018, the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination reached an unprecedented level with substantiated political dialogues and rapidly expanding two-way trade, Putin said. The Year of China-Russia Local Cooperation and Exchange got off to a good start, and the two countries conducted fruitful cooperation in solving major global and regional issues, he said. Russia and China will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2019, the Russian president said, voicing his belief that both sides will take the opportunity to continue effective cooperation in bilateral and multilateral affairs. Also on Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev exchanged New Year greetings. In his congratulatory message, Li said China would like to promote cooperation with Russia in trade, energy, finance, technology, agriculture, humanities and other areas to facilitate common development of both nations. For his part, Medvedev said that Russia highly values the achievements of the 23rd regular meeting between Chinese and Russian heads of government, and is willing to work actively with China to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields.

2018 opened a new era for China-Russia ties, says Xi Jinping to Putin in New year greetings