Putin and Xi affirm strategic alliance amid ‘unpredictable’ world

The Russian and Chinese leaders met in Kyrgyzstan on the sidelines of the SCO summit, being attended by over a dozen heads of state.Published On 31 Aug 202631 Aug 2026Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have reaffirmed their strategic alliance amid growing global uncertainty, as they met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan.In their first meeting since May, Xi told Putin on Monday that he was “happy” to meet again. He told the Russian leader, whose country is engaged in a fifth year of war on Ukraine, that bilateral ties between Beijing and Moscow have grown “more solid”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Vance says Trump ‘sending a message’ to Iran with AI-generated videolist 2 of 3Palestinian farmers rebuild what Israeli settlers destroy in West Banklist 3 of 3Israel’s Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalemend of listThat should continue despite increased “uncertainty and unpredictability in the international order,” he added. China has consistently denied giving Russia material support for its assault on its neighbour.Xi told Putin that there are “even brighter” prospect...