China supports Russia at UN Nord Stream debate in united stand against US-led West

The top Chinese leadership has vowed to deepen ties with Russia to counter Western pressure ahead of third Putin-Xi meeting since May

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President Xi Jinping has told Russia’s Vladimir Putin of China’s readiness to jointly “expand all-round pragmatic cooperation” between the two countries. Photo: via AP

Published: 8:17pm, 5 Oct 2024Updated: 8:21pm, 5 Oct 2024

China sided with Russia in a row with the US-led West on Friday as the United Nations Security Council debated accountability for the 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines.

It came as both Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is expected to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this month, and top diplomat Wang Yi vowed this week to deepen ties with Moscow to counter Western pressure.

Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, voiced Beijing’s disappointment over the lack of progress in investigating the Nord Stream pipeline explosions in the Baltic Sea two years ago.

The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 undersea pipelines carrying natural gas from Russia to Germany were severely damaged on September 26, 2022, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

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Echoing Russia’s UN envoy who had requested the council session, Geng called on member nations to “actively communicate and cooperate” with Moscow and avoid double standards or politicising the investigation.