Ammon News - China's President Xi Jinping convened his Russian and North Korean counterparts in Beijing for the first time on Tuesday, a show of solidarity with countries shunned by the West over their role in Europe's worst war in 80 years.

Xi hosted Vladimir Putin for talks at the Great Hall of the People and then at his personal residence, calling him his "old friend". A few hours later, Kim Jong Un's armoured train was spotted by a Reuters witness arriving in the Chinese capital.

The three are set to take centre stage at a massive military parade on Wednesday, where the Chinese president will flaunt his vision for a new global order as U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policies strain Western alliances.

Xi also held talks on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, whose country has been targeted by Trump over its purchases of Russian oil seen as helping finance Putin's war effort.

Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the summit "performative" and accused China and India, the biggest buyers of Russian crude, of being "bad actors" by fuelling Russia's war.

Reuters