On Beijing visit, Russian prime minister says pressure from West is strengthening ties with China

BEIJING (AP) — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says pressure from the West is strengthening his country’s ties with China. Mishustin met with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing as Russia is increasingly turning to China for diplomatic and economic support amid growing isolation over its invasion of Ukraine. In opening remarks at his meeting Wednesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Mishustin did not mention the 15-month war that China, in deference to Moscow, has refused to criticize. It focused instead on economic cooperation between the neighbors that have partnered in challenging the U.S. lead in global affairs. Mishustin says their relations are influenced by the “pressure of illegitimate sanctions from the collective West.”