Putin wasted no time buttering up China after his election victory
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Russian President Vladimir Putin praised and touted ties with China right after his election victory.
Russia is increasingly turning toward China as an alternative market for its sanctions-hit economy.
Trade between Russia and China reached $240 billion in 2023, a 26% rise from the previous year.
Fresh out of a carefully engineered presidential-election victory on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin wasted no time getting on Beijing's good side.
"China is developing at a rapid pace, with great confidence. And, which is very important, the structure of China's economy is changing toward innovation," Putin said at his campaign headquarters on Monday, according to the state news agency TASS.
"And we are trying to do the same at home. We are facing absolutely the same tasks in Russia," Putin added.
He said Russia and China had "numerous points of convergence in economy and foreign policy."
On Monday, China's leader, Xi Jinping, congratulated Putin in turn, saying the Russian president's reelection "fully reflects the support of the Russian people."
Dollar-denominated trade between the two countries climbed 26% from $190 billion in 2022 to a record $240 billion in 2023, according to official data.
Europe was traditionally Russia's largest single market. But after being hit by sweeping Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Moscow has pivoted its economy toward alternative markets including China, India, and Iran to keep its economy humming.
Putin affirmed China's claims about Taiwan
Beijing and Moscow declared their "no limits" friendship in a joint statement on February 4, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Even though the two countries already appear cozy, Putin tried to score extra points with China during the press conference on Monday by affirming Beijing's claim that self-ruled Taiwan is a part of China.
At a regular press briefing that day, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said, "China highly commends President Putin's statement."
Taiwan's foreign-affairs ministry slammed Putin's support for China's position, saying in a statement on Monday that the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled democratic Taiwan.
The island also took a swipe at Putin's election and its invasion of Ukraine.
"Putin in Russia pretends to be a democracy but actually acts as a dictatorship," Taiwan's foreign-affairs ministry said. "The election was held without opposition or opponents, and the election was forcibly held in the occupied territories that were originally Ukrainian territory, highlighting the violent nature of the dictatorship."
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