Xi Jinping may have brought Putin a peace plan for Ukraine, but Russia’s backing for China’s contest with the US is his priority

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has welcomed his most important backer to Moscow with pomp and ceremony, on a trip that will showcase just how serious or not Xi Jinping is about pushing for peace in Ukraine. Upon arriving in Moscow, the Chinese leader was greeted with a ceremonial honour guard at the airport and declared he was very happy to be back on Russian soil. He met with his “dear friend” Putin at the Kremlin, the two leaders touting their close ties before sitting down to informal talks that lasted nearly four and a half hours, Russian state news agencies…