Russia accused the United States on Saturday of "playing with fire" around Taiwan while China said it will press on working for "peaceful reunification" with the democratically governed island and pledged to take forceful steps to oppose any external interference, a thinly veiled reference to Washington.
Tensions over Taiwan between Washington and Beijing have soared after a visit there in August by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which was followed by large-scale Chinese military drills as well as a pledge by U.S. President Joe Biden to defend the Chinese-claimed island.
Weeks before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February, he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping declared a "no limits" partnership, inking a promise to collaborate more against the West.