Beijing:
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Vladimir Putin on Monday, telling his Russian counterpart that his re-election “fully reflects the support of the Russian people”, Beijing state media reported.
With 99 percent of polling stations submitting results, Putin had secured 87.33 percent of all votes cast, official election data showed on Monday, state news agency RIA said.
It was a record victory for Putin in a presidential election in which he faced no real competition, with the polls criticized by several Western countries as neither free nor fair.
“Your re-election fully reflects the Russian people's support for you,” Xi told Putin, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
“In recent years, the Russian people have united to overcome challenges and make steady progress on the path to national development and revitalization,” Xi reportedly said.
“I believe that under your leadership, Russia will be able to achieve greater achievements in national development and construction,” he said.
“China attaches great importance to the development of China-Russia relations and is willing to maintain close communication with Russia to promote the sustainable, healthy, stable and deep development of bilateral ties,” Xi said.
Building relationships'
Putin on Monday praised his key ally Beijing, saying he was “confident that in the coming years we will only strengthen and build our relations and achieve common successes for the benefit of the Chinese and Russian peoples,” Russia's state news agency TASS reported. .
“The most important thing is the coincidence of state interests. This sets a very good tone for solving common problems in the field of international relations,” Putin is reported to have said.
“The structure of China's economy is changing toward innovation,” he said. “In Russia we face exactly the same tasks.”
China and Russia, once socialist allies, weathered a stormy relationship in the final decades of the last century but have drawn closer recently as their budding friendship has become a bulwark against the US-led West.
Close ties have grown even closer, even as Ukraine's brutal invasion of Ukraine has roiled Moscow's relations with Western countries, and China has pointedly refused to condemn its ally's attack on its European neighbor.
Western countries have argued that China's ambiguity has given Putin the much-needed political and diplomatic cover to wage an unprovoked war of aggression against Kiev.
'Best friend' Putin
Both leaders have previously praised the strength of their personal friendship, with both reshaping their respective countries in their own image during lengthy tenures at the helm.
Last October, Xi welcomed his “dear friend” Putin to Beijing, where the Russian president was guest of honor at a multilateral summit.
The Chinese leader said that “the political mutual trust between the two countries is constantly deepening,” and praised their “close and effective strategic coordination.”
Noting that he had met Putin 42 times in the past decade, Xi said they had “developed a good working relationship and a deep friendship.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
