Putin concludes a trip to China by emphasizing its strategic and personal ties to Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin is concluding a two-day visit to China by emphasizing the countries' strategic ties as well as his own personal relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as they seek to present an alternative to U.S. global influence. Putin made a back-handed rebuke for the U.S., and others who oppose the Moscow-Beijing relationship, saying an “emerging multipolar world ... is now taking shape before our eyes.” Putin praised their bilateral trade as he toured a China-Russia Expo in the northeastern city of Harbin and met students at the Harbin Institute of Technology, which is said to work closely with the People’s Liberation Army. Harbin was once home to many Russian expatriates and retains some of that history.