The White House ridiculed the embrace between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during Putin's state visit earlier this week, noting that it observed no significant progress in relations between the two parties. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, in response to a question about the significance of the photo capturing the two leaders, said, "A hug? Well, that's nice for them." He added, "I'm not qualified to talk about personal physical affection one way or another; I think I'll leave it to those gentlemen to discuss why they think hugging each other is a good thing."
Putin arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a two-day state visit and affirmed during his visit that "the relations between Russia and China are not opportunistic and are not directed against anyone." He added that "our cooperation is a stabilizing factor on the international stage." Chinese President Xi also pointed out to his guest that the relationship between Beijing and Moscow "is conducive to peace," stating that "the relations between China and Russia not only serve the interests of both great countries but are also favorable for peace," emphasizing his readiness to strengthen them.
