Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted his Russian and North Korean counterparts together for the first time Tuesday, signaling solidarity among countries isolated by the West over their involvement in Europe's most severe conflict in 80 years.
Vladimir Putin hailed "unprecedentedly high relations" with China and thanked his "dear friend" Xi for the warm welcome during talks at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, while Kim Jong Un's armoured special train snaked toward the Chinese capital.
With Iran's leader also due to attend China's massive military parade on Wednesday, Xi's diplomatic clout with a group of authoritarian regimes dubbed the "Axis of Upheaval" by some Western analysts comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's isolationist policies strain Washington's alliances.
Beyond the pomp, analysts are watching whether the trio may signal closer defense relations following a 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.
It would also be a blow for Trump, who has talked up his close relations with Putin, Xi and Kim and touted his peacemaking credentials as Russia's three-and-a-half-year war with Ukraine has raged on.
