In his New Year message, Chinese President Xi Jinping promises to promote world peace and development

In his New Year message, Chinese President Xi Jinping promises to promote world peace and development

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to promote "world peace" in a New Year's message to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

According to China's state television CCTV, Xi Jinping stated, "No matter how the international situation changes, China will continue to advance its reform process and remain steadfast in promoting world peace and development."

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China has attempted to present itself as a neutral party. However, it maintains strong political and economic ties with Russia, leading NATO members to label China as an "enabler" of the war.

Xi Jinping told Putin, "In the face of rapidly evolving changes not seen in a century and the turbulent international situation, China and Russia have consistently moved forward together along the correct path of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third party."

The personal relationship between Xi and Putin is extremely strong, with Xi calling Putin his "best friend" and Putin referring to Xi as his "reliable partner."

2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, which Xi referred to as an important new milestone in their relationship.

In his New Year's address, Putin paid tribute to Russian soldiers, describing them as "true heroes," but did not go into detail about the ongoing war in Ukraine. He expressed confidence that "everything will be fine, and we will move forward."

Meanwhile, in his New Year's speech, Xi Jinping issued a firm message regarding Taiwan, stating, "The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend of national reunification."

China considers Taiwan an inseparable part of its territory and has taken a hard stance against the Taiwanese government.