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Putin was welcomed by fanfare and a red carpet as he arrived at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, where he called Xi a "dear friend". While "soaring rhetoric" comes from the Russian side, China is "more careful" and "nuanced", writes China correspondent Laura Bicker. Beijing is a powerful partner, with the survival of Putin's regime reliant on Chinese money and tech, according to chief analyst at BBC Monitoring, Vitaly Shevchenko. For Xi, this visit is a "balancing act", writes Laura, as he tries to maintain a "stable relationship with the West" and seeks "a bigger role for China on the world stage". An agreement about a major natural gas pipeline between the two countries has been reached – but key details are yet to be ironed out.
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