BEIJING: China and Russia should jointly safeguard their security and development interests, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the visiting Russian parliament speaker on Tuesday, in their efforts to build a more “equitable” international order.
The two sides should continue their traditional friendship and deepen strategic mutual trust, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying.
US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he might impose “massive” sanctions on Russia in two weeks depending on whether progress was possible in his bid to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Trump held a summit with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month, but has been
Unable to coax him into a meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Monday, Trump said China had to give the United States rare earth magnets or “we have to charge them 200 percent tariff or something.”
Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament the State Duma, arrived in China on Monday ahead of Putin’s visit to China this weekend, where he will cross paths with tens of Global South world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a security forum.
Indian exporters are bracing for additional 25 percent US tariffs from Wednesday as punishment for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
Russia and China should “unite” the countries in the Global South, Xi told Volodin, a key domestic ally of Putin’s.
Putin will also be the principal foreign guest of honor at a military parade in Beijing next week marking the formal surrender of Japan and the end of World War Two.
Ahead of what is set to be a massive public showcase of China’s modernizing armed forces, Beijing has mounted a campaign saying China and the former Soviet Union played a pivotal role in the Asian and European theaters during World War Two.
China-Russia relations serve as a “source of stability for world peace,” said Xi.
China, Russia should safeguard security, development interests, says Xi
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China, Russia should safeguard security, development interests, says Xi
- Two sides should continue their traditional friendship and deepen strategic mutual trust
- China’s leader: Russia and China should ‘unite’ the countries in the Global South
Britain needs to step up defense spending faster, says Starmer
- Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30
LONDON: Britain should step up and accelerate its defense spending, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, following a report that the government was considering bringing forward its target to spend 3 percent of economic output on defense.
Britain, which has warned of the risks posed by Russia, said in February 2025 that it would lift annual defense spending to 2.5 percent of the GDP by 2027 and aim for 3 percent in the next Parliament, which is expected to begin after an election due in 2029.
The BBC reported that the government was now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029. It said no decision had been taken but the government recognized current plans would not cover rising defense costs.
HIGHLIGHT
The BBC reported that the government is now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029.
Asked whether he would bring the target forward to 2029, Starmer echoed comments he made at the Munich Security Conference, where he said Europe had united to support Ukraine with the supply of weapons and munitions and to strengthen military readiness.
“We need to step up. That means on defense spending, we need to go faster,” Starmer told reporters on Monday. “We’ve obviously made commitments already in relation to that, but it goes beyond just how much you spend.”
Latest NATO estimates show that Britain spent 2.3 percent of the GDP on defense in 2024, above the alliance’s 2 percent guideline. But like other European countries, it has faced US pressure to spend more to protect the continent. Struggling with high debt and spending commitments, the government last year cut its international aid budget to fund the hike in defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP but is yet to publish an investment plan with spending priorities, something that has frustrated the defense industry.
Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has struggled to stay on track with her plans to repair the public finances. The BBC said the Finance Ministry was believed to be cautious about the new defense spending proposals.
A government spokesperson said Britain was “delivering the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.”
