SpaceWar.com reports: “Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin accused the United States of ‘interfering’ in their countries’ affairs during a telephone call on Thursday, the Kremlin said.

The West has viewed Moscow and Beijing, both of whom are seeking to expand their global influence, with increased anxiety over the past two years as they ramp up ties in trade and defence.

Xi and Putin denounced the ‘US policy of interfering in the internal affairs of other states’ during an hour-long call, the Kremlin said.

‘The leaders of the two countries realise that the US is practically implementing a policy of double containment, (toward) both Russia and China,’ Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

Moscow has looked to Beijing as a crucial economic lifeline since the West hit Russia with unprecedented sanctions over its military assault on Ukraine.

China has meanwhile benefited from cheap Russian energy imports and access to vast natural resources, including steady gas shipments via the Power of Siberia pipeline…”