Putin visits China as “Russia’s reliable friend”
The Russian and Chinese presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping meet in Shanghai Tuesday. Both are under fire from Washington over their respective policies on Ukraine and the South China Sea. On arrival, Putin called China “Russia’s reliable friend” and said “cooperation between them had reached its highest level in history. In this context, the two presidents will launch a joint Russian-Chinese naval exercise. Their summit is part of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), attended by delegations from nearly 40 countries and international organizations, including Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Cambodia.