China’s Xi rolls out carpet for Ukraine war aggressors, sidelining Trump

BEIJING — In a show of solidarity with the aggressors in Europe’s worst war in 80 years, China’s Xi Jinping will convene with his Russian and North Korean counterparts for the first time as Donald Trump and other Western leaders watch from afar. Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un’s visit to Beijing for a massive military parade this week underscore the Chinese president’s influence over authoritarian regimes intent on redefining the Western-led global order, while Trump’s isolationist stance strains long-standing U.S. alliances. The gathering of what Western analysts have dubbed the ‘Axis of Upheaval’ could build on a mutual defence pact signed by Russia and North Korea in June 2024, and a similar alliance between Beijing and Pyongyang, an outcome that may alter the military calculus in the Asia-Pacific region. Kim crossed into China early on Tuesday aboard his special train, en route to the capital Beijing. Xi and Putin, meanwhile, gathered at the Great Hall of the People for a meeting with Mongolia’s leader expected to touch on a vast gas pipeline project and bilateral talks. Putin thank

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