DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Xi and Putin hold talks just days after US President Donald Trump made an official visit to China.A meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin has started in Beijing, Chinese state media report.Xi welcomed Putin to the Chinese capital on Wednesday, shaking hands with the Russian leader outside the Great Hall of the People before their talks, video by Russian media showed.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBefore entering the Great Hall, Putin and Xi walked down a red carpet, rolled out to greet the Russian leader, and stood as a military band played both their countries’ national anthems.Putin began the talks by hailing the “strong, positive” momentum in cooperation between Russia and China, according to Russian media.“Even amid unfavourable external factors, our cooperation and economic cooperation is showing strong, positive momentum,” Putin told Xi.Addressing Putin, Xi lauded the “unyielding relationship” between China and Russia.“We have been able to continuously deepen our political mutual trust and strategic coordination with a resilience that remains unyielding despite trials and tribulations,” Xi told Putin, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.The Chinese leader also addressed the US-Israel war on Iran, telling his Russian counterpart that further conflict was “inadvisable” and a ceasefire was necessary.“A comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency, resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable and maintaining negotiations is particularly important,” Xi said, according to Xinhua. Russian President Vladimir Putin walks with China’s Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on Wednesday [Maxim Shemetov/Pool/Reuters]Al Jazeera’s …
