China’s president, Xi Jinping, offered to deepen cooperation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, in a phone call on Wednesday, signaling that Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine had not dented Mr. Xi’s basic commitment to their partnership.
The two leaders’ call appeared to be their first since late February, soon after Russia launched its full assault on Ukraine. In the months since, the Chinese government has sought to preserve ties with Moscow while maintaining that it was trying to be an impartial broker for peace in Ukraine.
But the summary of the conversation between Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry left little doubt that — whatever his misgivings about the invasion of Ukraine — Mr. Xi remains committed to close ties with Russia, which help to offset rising antagonism with the United States and its allies.
“Throughout this year, Chinese-Russian relations have maintained a healthy momentum of development in the face of global turbulence and change,” Mr. Xi told Mr. Putin, according to the Chinese summary.
“China is willing to promote the steady advancement of practical bilateral cooperation,” Mr. Xi said. “China is willing to continue maintaining mutual support on major issues of mutual concern involving sovereignty, security and other core interests, building closer bilateral strategic cooperation.”
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