Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a visit to Moscow that China and Russia should ensure the spoils of winning World War II and the postwar international order are preserved, apparently alluding to the territorial battles both countries are embroiled in with Japan.
Xi, who arrived in the Russian capital on Friday and met later the same day with President Vladimir Putin, made the remarks Saturday while addressing students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Xi is on the first leg of a four-nation tour.
In an apparent attempt to crank up the pressure on Tokyo over the Senkaku islet chain, which Japan controls and China claims, as well as four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido that Japan wants returned to its jurisdiction, Xi said Beijing and Moscow should support each other on their core national interests.
China has accused Japan of posing "a grave challenge to the postwar international order" by nationalizing the Senkakus last September, and claims the islets were "stolen" by Japan in 1895.