Xi calls for an immediate end to Middle East hostilities during meeting with Putin

20/05/2026

Xi calls for an immediate end to Middle East hostilities during meeting with Putin

BEIJING, May 20: Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that the Gulf region stands at a “critical juncture between war and peace,” stressing that all hostilities in the Middle East must end immediately.

Xi made the remarks during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

According to Chinese state media, Xi said the international situation remains “fluid and turbulent,” adding that China and Russia have strengthened their comprehensive strategic partnership based on equality, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.

He said political mutual trust between the two countries has deepened in recent years, while cooperation in trade, investment, energy, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges has continued to expand.

During the meeting, Xi and Putin also agreed to further extend the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, which was signed 25 years ago and serves as the legal foundation for long-term strategic cooperation between the two nations.

Xi said the treaty has proven increasingly important amid major global changes and growing geopolitical tensions, warning that the world risks “returning to the law of the jungle.”

He added that China would continue working with Russia to strengthen strategic coordination and uphold the spirit of the treaty. (Xinhua)