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Amid unprecedented global changes, the two nations’ relationship is driven by clear historical logic and shared civilizational heritage

On May 9, 2025, Moscow held a grand military parade on Red Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Approximately 27 foreign heads of state attended the Red Square parade, highlighting Russia’s influence on the international stage and signaling a break from Western diplomatic isolation. It also reinforced Russia’s ties with friendly nations. However, the parade was not merely a response to Western sanctions and containment. More importantly, it served as a powerful historical symbol and collective memory – a tribute to the immense sacrifices made for the victory in the global anti-fascist war, and a solemn reaffirmation of that great triumph and enduring honor.

At President Putin’s invitation, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Russia from May 7 to 10 and attended the Victory Day events. President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia signals a shared commitment by China and Russia to promote an accurate understanding of World War II history, defend the post-war international order centered on the United Nations, and uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. At the bilateral level, the two countries will continue to deepen their partnership through high-level exchanges, using the stability of their relationship to offset global uncertainty and advancing strategic coordination to safeguard international fairness and justice.

Eighty years ago, China and the Soviet Union fought side by side in the World Anti-Fascist War (World War II), forging a deep friendship through shared sacrifice. At this year’s military parade, President Putin praised the Chinese people’s significant contributions to the victory. In a signed article in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, President Xi Jinping also emphasized the decisive roles played by both countries.

Today, Western countries manipulate ideology through historical nihilism, double standards, and discursive reconstruction, deliberately downplaying, distorting, or even rewriting the historical contributions of China and the Soviet Union in World War II. By reshaping the narrative, they seek to undermine the foundations of the post-war international order and perpetuate their global dominance. Against this backdrop, the renewed call by the Chinese and Russian leaders to “jointly uphold a correct view of WWII history” serves as a powerful rebuke to historical revisionism and falsification. It reflects a shared strategic resolve to break the West’s monopoly on historical discourse and to defend international justice and collective memory. This is not only a shared responsibility to safeguard historical truth, but also a deep convergence between China and Russia in promoting the democratization of international relations, building a fair and equitable global order, and opposing unilateral hegemony.

On May 8, China and Russia signed a series of cooperation documents, including two major joint statements. The first focuses on further deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era; the second is a joint statement on global strategic stability. In addition, the two heads of state witnessed the exchange of multiple cooperation agreements in areas such as education, investment, culture, and science and technology. These documents not only ensure the continuity and stability of bilateral ties at the strategic level, but also reflect the steady deepening of practical cooperation across key sectors.

The 'Joint Statement on Further Deepening the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era' not only reaffirms the two countries’ firm commitment to safeguarding the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, but also elevates the promotion of a correct view of World War II history to a strategic element of institutionalized bilateral cooperation. Key measures include jointly organizing commemorative events, conducting research and exhibitions on the crimes of Nazi Germany and Japanese militarism, locating the remains of fallen soldiers, restoring memorial sites, and deepening cooperation on WWII historical memory in education, archives, media, and youth exchanges.

The 'Joint Statement on Maintaining Global Strategic Stability' reaffirms the two countries’ consistent stance on preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, safeguarding the international arms control and disarmament system, and more. It also systematically establishes a comprehensive dialogue and cooperation framework that includes nuclear security, strategic deterrence balance, and governance of militarization of emerging technologies. Notably, this statement marks the first time that biological security, chemical weapons control, and military ethics in artificial intelligence have been included in the global strategic stability agenda, signaling a significant breakthrough for China and Russia in shaping a new international security paradigm for the future.

At the bilateral cooperation level, President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin witnessed the exchange of 28 cooperation documents between China and Russia, covering areas such as trade, biosafety, investment protection, digital economy, scientific facilities, quarantine, media, film, and youth exchanges. This broad agenda strengthens traditional sectors like energy and trade, while strategically positioning both countries in emerging fields like digital economy and scientific innovation, and deepening people-to-people ties through cultural, educational, and youth cooperation.

Amid unprecedented global changes, the trajectory of China-Russia relations continues to attract international attention. Some speculate about a formal alliance or potential rifts due to diverging interests. In response, China and Russia have demonstrated through deepening cooperation that they are building a new type of major-country relationship based on “highest mutual trust, coordination, and strategic value.” As President Xi has emphasized, their relationship is driven by clear historical logic, strong internal momentum, and shared civilizational heritage, not aimed at or influenced by any third party.

History is not only a repository of memories of the past, but also serves as the foundational basis for contemporary international relations, shaping value identities and acting as the spiritual pillar for a fair and just international order. The outcomes of World War II crystallized into the cornerstone of multilateralism, with the United Nations at its core, establishing the fundamental principles that govern modern international relations. These principles, derived from the collective sacrifices of the war, have provided a framework for diplomacy, conflict resolution, and global cooperation. As the world faces new challenges, the importance of these historical lessons becomes increasingly evident – reminding us that the stability of the global order rests on our ability to respect shared values, adhere to international norms, and safeguard the multilateral system. In this context, the victory in WWII is not just a historical event, but an enduring legacy that continues to shape global governance and the international system.

As the renowned Russian historian Vasily Klyuchevsky once said, “Those who refuse to learn from history will ultimately pay a heavy price for their ignorance and arrogance.” China also has a saying: “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” The significance of history lies in guiding us forward. Upholding the achievements of WWII and safeguarding the international system centered on the United Nations is a shared responsibility and mission for both China and Russia.

The Palestinian militant group will release the last American hostage to facilitate ceasefire talks

Hamas has agreed to release Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier and the last known living US hostage held in Gaza, following negotiations with the US, President Donald Trump has announced.

Alexander was abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and the capture of approximately 250 hostages. In a statement on Sunday, Hamas said Alexander would be released “as part of efforts towards a ceasefire” and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, expressing gratitude to “all those involved,” without mentioning Israel.

“This was a step taken in good faith toward the United States and the efforts of the mediators – Qatar and Egypt – to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” he added.

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to arrive in Israel to oversee the release.

“We are picking him up probably tomorrow,” Witkoff told NBC News on Sunday. “There was a long negotiation with lots of people to thank,” he said, adding that the gesture of goodwill became possible “in large part” because of Trump.

The latest round of negotiations in Doha, conducted largely without Israel’s involvement, was facilitated through indirect talks between Hamas and the US, mediated by Egypt and Qatar. Both mediators praised the development as “a gesture of goodwill and a positive step toward resuming negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli forces resumed their offensive in Gaza in March following the collapse of a previous ceasefire – which Trump also claimed credit for. Israel accused Hamas of refusing to release the remaining 24 hostages believed to be alive, while Hamas accused West Jerusalem of stalling talks aimed at ending a war that has claimed more than 50,000 Palestinian lives, most of them civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently announced that the security cabinet approved a new “forceful” plan to destroy Hamas, adding that Gaza’s population “will be moved, to protect it.” According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli forces have already restricted access to 70% of Gaza through no-go zones and forced displacement orders.

In February, Trump advocated for the “voluntary” relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to countries such as Jordan and Egypt, arguing that it would enable the enclave’s transformation into a resort destination. Netanyahu called it a “remarkable idea” that should be “pursued.”

US President Donald Trump is expected to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane as a gift from the Qatari royals

US President Donald Trump is poised to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari royal family, multiple American media outlets reported on Sunday. The aircraft is expected to be refurbished into the new Air Force One.

The gift is expected to be announced next week, sources familiar with the arrangement told ABC News. Given that a new commercial Boeing 747-8 costs around $400 million, the aircraft is likely to become the most valuable gift ever extended to the US by a foreign government. Trump toured a luxury plane of the same model, reportedly formerly owned by the Qatari royal family, back in February, when it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.

The planned gift has reportedly been assessed by lawyers for the White House counsel’s office and the Department of Justice, who deemed it legal and not in violation of bribery laws or the Constitution’s prohibition on US government officials receiving gifts “from any King, Prince or foreign State.” Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded that receiving the aircraft would be admissible on the condition that it ends up being donated to Trump’s presidential library before the end of his tenure, sources told ABC. 

The plane, popularly known as the “flying palace” is expected to undergo lengthy checks for listening devices while being retrofitted into a proper Air Force One and is likely to only be commissioned shortly before the end of Trump’s presidential term. Texas-based defense contractor L3Harris has already been tapped to retrofit the plane, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The White House currently has two aging Boeing 747-200 jumbo jets that were commissioned in the early 1990s. They have reportedly been plagued by assorted technical issues, and the White House has been seeking to replace them for some time already.

A contract with Boeing to deliver two new Air Force One planes, however, has run into repeated delays and suffered from ballooning costs. The planes based on the 747-8 model were originally scheduled for delivery in 2024, but the deadline ended up pushed back to 2027 or even 2028.

Trump lamented the situation with Air Force One shortly after his tour of the 747-8 plane, criticizing the aircraft-making giant for the delays. “No, I’m not happy with Boeing. It takes them a long time to do, you know, Air Force One, we gave that contract out a long time ago,” Trump said at the time, stating he might ultimately “buy a plane or get a plane, or something” to fill the niche.

The Islamist group is concerned the game could be associated with gambling, which is prohibited under Afghanistan’s morality laws

Afghanistan's Taliban government has banned the game of chess across the country, arguing that it is incompatible with Islamic Sharia laws. The decision was announced on Sunday.

“There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess,” the Taliban government’s sports directorate spokesman, Atal Mashwani, told AFP, adding that the game is “considered a means of gambling,” which was outlawed under the morality laws imposed by the Islamist group.

The game will remain prohibited “until these considerations are addressed,” the spokesman stated. According to Mashwani, the national chess federation has not held any events for around two years anyway.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, capitalizing on the withdrawal of US forces after their two-decade presence in the Central Asian country. Upon taking power, it restricted a number of sports disciplines. Last year, it banned mixed martial arts (MMA) and other free fighting championships, declaring them too “violent” and “problematic with respect to Sharia.”

The Taliban does not view all sports negatively, though. In January, a Taliban delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi discussed sports cooperation with India during talks in Dubai. Cricket, which is very popular in both countries, featured in the negotiations, according to New Delhi.

In February, the Washington Post reported that Afghanistan’s popular local sport of buzkashi was “thriving” under Taliban rule despite initial fears of a ban. The equestrian sport involving horse-mounted players trying to direct a goat or a calf carcass into a goal had been prohibited during the Islamist group’s first stint in power in the 1990s. Now, however, the game reportedly regularly draws audiences in the thousands, including Taliban members.

The current US president is a unique product of America’s political disfunction, and attempts to mimic him are foolish

Australia’s Labor government was returned to office at last Saturday’s federal election in a landslide win.

Labor now holds 90 seats in the House of Representatives to the opposition’s 40, inflicting a devastating defeat on the conservatives. The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, a keen admirer of Donald Trump, lost his seat.

The conservative opposition in Australia has now been reduced to political irrelevancy in its present form, and – consumed by bitter infighting and recriminations – is destined to disappear as a major political force in the next few years.  

Earlier last week the centrist Liberal party in Canada won a federal election, defeating the Conservative party, which had been 25 points ahead in the polls earlier in the year. The Canadian Conservative party leader, Pierre Poilievre – once touted as “Canada’s Donald Trump” – also lost his seat.

Last Thursday, in UK local council elections, the British Conservative party suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of Nigel Farage’s populist Reform party – losing control of a raft of local councils and mayoralties.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, is an enthusiastic fan of Donald Trump. She once praised him for being “a force for good in the world” and demanded that the Labour Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary apologise to Trump for daring to have criticised him.

Badenoch is certain to face a leadership challenge in the near future and will be deposed as the conservative leader. The UK Conservative party, just like the conservative coalition in Australia, is destined for political oblivion. So dire is the party’s predicament that Robert Jenrick, Badenoch’s likely replacement as leader, recently called for it to form a coalition with the Reform party.

These three election results make clear that conservative parties in the West that seek to imitate Trump derive no benefit from doing so – and that mimicking Trump only hastens their imminent political demise.

It is true that Canada is a special case. Trump’s absurd threat to make Canada America’s “51st state” – a ham-fisted attack on Canadian sovereignty – together with his recent imposition of crippling tariffs made a Liberal election victory virtually inevitable. Canadians have always been particularly sensitive to threats of domination from America.

It is also true that Trump’s misguided tariff policy – that threatened the globalist economic order, until the global financial system swiftly compelled him to reverse it – caused his popularity within almost all Western nations, such as it was, to decline overnight.

Why then have conservative leaders in the West nevertheless continued to flirt with Trumpism despite the negative electoral consequences for them?

Conservative leaders clearly believe that by imitating Trump they can duplicate his political “success.”

That belief, however, is delusional in the extreme – because the circumstances that created a creature like Trump are qualitatively different from the situation in which conservative leaders in the West are constrained to function.

No mainstream politician in the West could behave as Trump does and seriously expect to be elected prime minister. Nor could a prime minister who refused to accept the result of an election, fomented a violent attack on a sitting parliament, flagrantly disregarded the rule of law, or jailed judges that handed down decisions adverse to him hope to remain in office.

Trump is not a politician at all – despite twice being elected president. Trump is a grotesque populist disrupter, a bizarre product of America’s unique political system and its debauched popular celebrity culture.

Conservative leaders ignore the fact that Trump is a president – not a prime minister. Trump does not sit in Congress, and he is not accountable to parliament in the same way that a prime minister or leader of the opposition is.  

Furthermore, as president, Trump has executive powers far beyond those exercised by any prime minister. Since being elected last year, Trump has governed by means of executive orders – a quasi-dictatorial political device that has no counterpart in most Western democracies.

Conservative leaders also fail to appreciate the fact that Trump has taken over the Republican party and purged it of ideological divisions.

The Republican party – like all traditional conservative parties – had, prior to Trump’s capture of it, always been made up of ideologically opposed factions. When Trump took over the party in 2016 he drove out all the old Reagan and Bush conservatives and brutally imposed ideological unity on the party – hence the sad fate of Liz Cheney and other remnants of the older Republican elites.

Trump has transformed the Republican party into his own personal fiefdom – and this allows him to behave in the disruptive and crude manner in which he has during both of his crisis-ridden presidencies.

No other traditional conservative party in the West is as ideologically unified as Trump’s Republican party. In fact, they are all bitterly and deeply ideologically divided. That is why no conservative leader can adopt a fully-fledged Trump agenda – because it would alienate a significant portion of their own parties.

Conservative leaders also fail to appreciate that Trump’s Republican party is no longer a conservative party at all – it is a populist party committed to a populist agenda.

Conservative leaders, for all of the above reasons, are in a very different position from Trump.

Nevertheless, they seek to emulate Trump because they are desperate to differentiate themselves from their social democratic political opponents with which – as many voters well know – they are actually in basic ideological and policy agreement.

They also hope that flirting with Trump will help them to ward off the increasingly potent threat from emerging populist parties to their right and shore up their waning electoral support.

This misguided gambit, however, has recently become a losing game for conservative leaders because disaffected voters in the West understandably now seek a genuine ideological alternative to both major parties. These voters – they make up 30% of the electorate and their numbers are increasing – don’t want Trump lite, they want the real thing.

Peter Dutton, like Badenoch and Poilievre, has foolishly flirted with Trumpism since becoming the conservative opposition leader three years ago – and his demise neatly illustrates the futility of a conservative leader attempting to turn himself into a Trump clone.

Dutton – urged on by right-wing commentators employed by the Murdoch press, Sky News and the Spectator, as well as his close friend and outspoken Trump enthusiast billionaire Gina Rinehart – eagerly welcomed Trump’s election as president last year.

So deranged are Rinehart and segments of the Murdoch media that – even after Saturday’s catastrophic election loss – they are still urging what is left of the conservative coalition to become more Trump-like.

Earlier this year, Dutton acquiesced to calls by Trump’s lickspittle supporters in his own party and the Murdoch media to recall Australia’s ambassador to the US, former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, because he had the audacity to criticise Trump during his first presidency.

Dutton enthusiastically mimicked Trump’s “toughness” towards China and his support for the Netanyahu regime’s atrocities in Gaza. When Trump announced his ludicrous and inhumane plan to turn Gaza into a Middle Eastern version of the Riviera, Dutton sycophantically hailed him as “a big thinker” and “shrewd.”

Then, just as the election campaign began, Trump imposed his draconian tariffs, thereby endangering the entire globalist economic order, and the Australian stock market crashed.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rightly protested and criticised Trump for this – but all Dutton did was to suggest that Albanese’s attempt to protect Australia’s economic interests and was not “tough” enough.

Interestingly, the populist Nigel Farage, who is a close personal friend of Trump and who has campaigned for him, was far more critical of Trump on the tariff issue than Dutton was. Farage even compared Trump to Liz Truss – surely the ultimate political insult. Farage, unlike Dutton, knows that the only way to deal effectively with Trump is to stand up to him. The newly elected Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, did precisely this at his meeting with Trump this week.

Trump has never been popular with mainstream voters in Australia, and his popularity plummeted after the tariff debacle.

Dutton, however, persisted with his ill-advised Trump flirtation, foolishly following the advice of conservative commentators who urged him to become even more Trump-like. One commentator penned an article early last week stating that Trump had not caused the Conservative party to lose the Canadian election. Perhaps Dutton believed such nonsense.

Dutton staunchly defended one of his shadow cabinet – to whom he had allocated the DOGE-like task of weeding out public service inefficiency – when she was photographed wearing a MAGA cap during the final stages of the election campaign.

And early last week Dutton urged voters to pay no attention to the ABC and The Guardian – which he described, in Trumpian terms, as “the hate media.”

Then – just two days before election day – it was revealed that Trump’s campaign co-manager, Chris LaCivita, had made a secret trip to Australia two weeks previously to give Dutton election advice. This suggests that Dutton’s infatuation with Trump may have been much more intense than previously thought – and the fact that Dutton kept the visit secret speaks for itself.

Dutton could mimic Trump all he liked, but the one thing that he could not do, as a conservative party leader, was adopt a fully-fledged Trumpian agenda that distinguished him from the Labor government. Thus he alienated mainstream voters – while at the same time being unable to attract the votes of those disaffected voters who were seeking a genuine populist alternative to both major parties.

These voters reacted by overwhelmingly voting for the safe and unthreatening Albanese government – that had never cravenly ceded Australia’s autonomy to Trump as had Dutton – in unprecedented and unexpected numbers.

And, on Monday, to add insult to injury, in an interview Donald Trump said “I am very friendly with Albanese. I have no idea who the other fellow who ran against him is.” In similar fashion, Trump treated Mark Carney with respect when he met with him this week at the White House. Trump may use sycophants, but he only respects winners.

Dutton did not lose last week’s election just because of his imprudent mimicking of Donald Trump – but his aping of Trump was indicative of a fundamental lack of political judgment that led to his calamitous electoral defeat.

Donald Trump has exerted a toxic influence on conservative politicians in the West for almost a decade, and will no doubt continue to do so – because conservatism’s pathetic and increasingly desperate embrace of Trump is a symptom of its political irrelevance and its ideological bankruptcy.

Moscow’s peace initiative strikes a blow to the warmongers in the EU, Florian Philippot has said

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to re-start peace talks with Ukraine without preconditions is timely and well thought out, the leader of France’s Patriots party, Florian Philippot, told RIA Novosti on Sunday. The initiative supports the building momentum toward finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict and “strikes a blow to the warmongers in the EU” who want the hostilities to continue, he added.

On Saturday, Putin proposed restarting direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. Kiev unilaterally abandoned the talks in 2022. Moscow is ready to get back to the negotiating table without any preconditions, the Russian leader said.

“I believe it is a very well thought out [initiative],” Philippot told RIA. “We will never find a solution [to the conflict] if we avoid fundamental issues that affected relations between Russia and Ukraine for many years and even decades before [the start of the Ukraine conflict escalation in] 2022.”

The politician nevertheless warned that Kiev’s Western backers are likely to exert strong pressure on Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to reject Russia’s proposal and make any talks “impossible.” According to Philippot, Moscow’s offer “strikes a blow” to all the “warmongers” in the EU, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron, as well as Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are only “pretending to be the proponents of peace” while seeking to keep relations with Russia tense and “do everything” to rekindle the flames of war.

Philippot also took to X and YouTube on Sunday to express his support for the Russian peace initiative and criticize Macron and other EU leaders. “Let the peace negotiations continue!” he wrote on the social media, calling on Macron, Merz, Starmer and EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen to “be stopped.”

Earlier on Sunday, Zelensky demanded that Russia agree to Kiev’s unconditional 30-day ceasefire demand before Ukraine agrees to any talks. He also put forward a similar demand on Saturday, following a meeting with European leaders, including Macron, Merz and Starmer, in Kiev. The Kremlin rejected what it described as external pressure surrounding the proposed truce.

The US president, however, expressed doubts that Kiev will be able to reach a deal with Moscow

US President Donald Trump has urged Ukraine to “immediately” agree to the proposal of direct unconditional talks put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Sunday.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump suggested the proposed direct negotiations would, at least, help to clarify the positions of the sides of the conflict and show “whether or not a deal is possible.” 

“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” the US leader wrote.

If it becomes clear that reaching a deal is not possible “European leaders, and the US, will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly,” Trump stated.

“I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin,” he added.

Earlier in the day, the Russian president proposed that “the Kiev authorities resume the negotiations they interrupted in 2022” without any preconditions on May 15 in Istanbul. The peace settlement process must start with talks, which could ultimately yield “some kind of new truce and a new ceasefire,” Putin added.

“We are set on serious negotiations with Ukraine. Their aim is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and to achieve a long-term lasting peace for a historical perspective,” the president stressed.

The Russian offer has been criticized by Kiev and its Western backers, who demand the talks be preceded by the establishment of at least a 30-day truce. This stance was reiterated by Vladimir Zelensky minutes after Trump made his remarks. The Ukrainian leader demanded a truce be announced on Monday.

READ MORE: Zelensky sets conditions for direct talks with Putin in Türkiye

“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” Zelensky wrote on X.

In 2022, Zelensky explicitly prohibited engaging in any negotiations with Russia as long as Putin is in power. While the ban remains in place, Zelensky has somewhat softened his position as of late, claiming it actually applied to everyone in Ukraine except himself.