Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement “further deepening” their partnership following talks in Moscow Thursday – a show of solidarity in the face of global uncertainties unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s “America First” diplomacy.

Vladimir Putin has led Russia’s Victory Day commemorations with a parade in Red Square and heightened security after days of Ukrainian strikes targeting the capital. China’s Xi Jinping joined Putin as he told thousands of soldiers and more than 20 international leaders that Russia remembered the lessons of World War Two.