Xi Jinping: China-Russia Must Maintain Joint Security

JAKARTA - Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and Russia must jointly maintain the security and interests of the country's development.

Xi Jinping conveyed this to the Speaker of the Russian Parliament who was visiting on Tuesday, August 26, in their efforts to build a fairer international order.

Both parties must continue their traditional friendship and deepen strategic mutual trust, the Xinhua government news agency quoted.

Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower house of parliament, Duma Negara, arrived in China on Monday ahead of Putin's visit to China this weekend.

He will meet with dozens of world leaders from developing countries, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in security forums.

Indian exporters prepare to face an additional tariff of 25% from the US starting Wednesday as punishment for New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil.

"Russia and China must unite countries in the southern hemisphere," Xi told Volodin, Putin's main domestic ally.

Putin will also be the main guest of foreign honor at a military parade in Beijing next week marking Japan's official surrender and the end of World War II.

Ahead of what will be a massive public show of modernization of China's armed forces, Beijing is intensifying a campaign that says China and the former Soviet Union played an important role on the Asian and European stages during World War II.

"China-Russia relations serve as a source of stability for world peace", Xi said.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said earlier this week he might impose "massive" sanctions on Russia in two weeks, depending on whether there is progress in his efforts to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Trump held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month but has not managed to persuade him to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On Monday, Trump said China should give the United States a rare earth magnet or impose a 200% tariff.