As Russia's options to purchase gallium and germanium from around the world almost disappeared, China became the sole supplier in 2023, the investigation said, citing leaked data from Russian customs databases.

While elected on an America-first, isolationist platform, freshly reinstalled U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have quickly homed in on Latin America. The interactions hitting the headlines have not been positive.

With Western sanctions cutting off supplies, China has become Russia’s sole source of critical minerals used in weapons production—including nuclear arms—deepening concerns over Beijing’s support for Moscow’s war effort.

China urged the United States and Russia on Jan. 28 to "further reduce" their nuclear stockpiles as a necessary step before Beijing would consider joining potential disarmament talks proposed by U.S.

An investigation by RFE/RL’s Schemes has found that companies at least partially owned by the Chinese state are feeding critical minerals to Russian suppliers to manufacturers of weapons the Kremlin has used to pummel Ukraine since its all-out invasion nearly three years ago.

“Joint efforts by Russia and China play an important stabilizing role in global affairs.” Xi similarly praised close cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, saying it helps “bring positive energy to reforming and developing the global system.

The treaties with Iran and Belarus are different from the one Russia reached with North Korea, and there has been no attempt to link any of them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday that Moscow and Beijing's foreign policy ties played a stabilising role in international affairs.

Beijing has sought to push back on Western criticism over those debts. Mutasim Ali, a legal adviser at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, a Canadian NGO, told CNN that in his view, Russia and China tend to share a common trait in their dealings ...

All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met in Beijing on Feb.

China's President Xi Jinping spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin over video call on Tuesday, Chinese national broadcaster CCTV said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a call Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing the two countries’ close ties, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th