China and Russia “cannot be moved away” from one another, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, in their first phone call since US President Donald Trump upended American foreign policy with a sweeping pivot toward Moscow as he pushes for peace in Ukraine. The call, which took place as Kyiv marked the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion, stands as a clear message from Beijing that its relations with its key diplomatic partner will not be shaken by Washington’s warming relations with the Kremlin. “History and reality show that China and Russia are good neighbors that cannot be moved away, and true friends who share weal and woe,” Xi told Putin, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua, evoking a phrase the Chinese leader had used to mark the symbolically significant 70th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2019. “The development strategies and foreign policies…
